Mistake
by B. and the Jetts
Summary: It should've been simple, no one was supposed to get hurt. Now they seemed broken beyond repaire. Not Jason, though. Jason was clueless (and surprisingly helpful) ::Tag to MatureContent's Challenge::
1. Raised by wolves

Tim stared. He knew there was a logical conclusion to the sum of everything he was seeing on that rooftop, but the options his brain was coming up with made absolutely no sense.

And the enraged look Damian was giving him made it even harder to think. It wasn't exactly the rage that was the issue, he'd been getting murderous looks from the kid for as long as he could remember, but that edge of pure panic that shone underneath it all… That was new and unnerving.

"You're hurt." Tim said with no inflection, feeling particularly dumb "I hurt you? How could I possibly hurt you?"

It should be obvious, shouldn't it? He had all the clues _right there_, but then Damian tried to stand on wobbly legs and the answer slipped his mind. "God, Robin, what did I do?" Tim stepped close, stretching a helpful hand to steady Damian but never made it even close, Damian jumped back and barred his teeth.

"Don't you dare." Damian tried to growl, it came out slightly desperate "Don't. You. _Dare_. Touch me."

The kid could barely stand and still managed to drag himself away from Tim.

"I know you hate me, Damian…" he whispered the name, but it didn't keep the boy from tensing "But I can help you. Let me help you."

_What did I do?_

"You've helped me enough, Drake." the kid struggled with numb wrists and boneless legs, not seeming to care that he leaving blood smears all over the place even though, there was no apparent wound other than the one on his cheek.

"I gonna step closer, ok?" Tim said in the calmest voice he could process "I'm stepping closer to check where is all that blood coming from, then I'll step back and you can tell me what just happen and why were you half naked."

Damian barely acknowledged him, the only proof he'd heard Tim at all were his fastening movements to climb to the ledge of the building, his foot slipped – Damian never slipped – and his chin hit the concrete hard, Tim couldn't even imagine how much that must've hurt, but Damian only bared his teeth again "You've helped me plenty, Drake." and managed to stand on the ledge.

Damian's grappling gun was broken on the floor right next to Tim's feet, of _that_ Tim was certain if nothing else, so he just jumped to stop Damian from doing something stupid.

Which was probably the stupidest thing _he_ could've done.

No matter if Damian was seriously injured, kid was still the son of the Bat and, lightning fast, he struck a foot across Tim's face. The next second he was gone.

Tim stared at the blood from his mouth coloring his fingertips, stared at the ground – more blood, not his. There was only one logical conclusion as to what just happened, but it didn't make any sense.

_God, no._

Dick was frantic. The radio silence from Damian was driving him insane. It should've been simple, picking up Tim and heading back, but when was anything ever simple?

Especially with those two involved.

They had come to some sort of truce, even if Damian never really forgave the Hit List thing, he'd been somewhat civil towards Tim, allegedly because 'nature would handle Drake soon enough'. Which made Dick snicker, what could he say? His aggressive-aggressive assassin boy was growing into a passive-aggressive asshole, just like the rest of the family.

But now, neither of his two passive aggressive asshole little brothers were answering him, and he was about to pull the cowl back on and simply _look_, check every single place, every crevice of Gotham he could think of until he found them, bite their heads off to later watch, amused as they tried to pin the blame on the other.

Then Tim walked in.

Wild eyes, busted lip, clothes stained and Dick's stomach dropped.

"Timmy?" he called and Tim jumped "What happened?"

"You mean Damian didn't tell you?"

"Damian's not here."

"Where is he?"

Dick frowned. "I was about to ask you the same thing. What the hell happened out there, Tim? Did you see him?"

"He got hurt."

"How?"

"I woke up and he was hurt and…" Tim continued as if Dick's words were completely lost on him.

"You woke up?" Dick asked, trying to connect eyes with his brother, but Timmy was lost in his own head.

"He said I did it. That I hurt him. How could I even hurt him? He's the one who hurts people."

"What did you do?"

"He was lying, right? He had to be. But… He _was_ hurt, I saw it."

"Tim. What did you do?"

"He ran away. And he never runs away. He stays and tries to make me feel miserable for existing, he looked so scared."

"Tim-"

"I don't know!" Tim shouted, his voice bouncing from the walls "I- I hurt him, Dick. I don't know what I did, but I hurt him. Bad."

Jason kinda giggled to himself, then startled at the sound.

The thought of his head hitting the floor repeatedly shouldn't be funny, but it _totally_ is. He might be concussed. Still funny, though.

He had the phantom feeling of the guys hand around the back of him neck, banging his head on the curb, making different colors explode in front of his eyes every single time. If it wasn't for the helmet, well… Jason just giggled some more, leaning on the alley wall.

A noise made him sober up, there was someone there in the dark with him, and even if his scumbag brain found that just a little too hilarious to be healthy, Jason could appreciate the danger.

The noise stilled as he stepped forward and a little shape tried to fuse with the shadows.

"Robin?" Jason called and got no answer, so he simply stepped closer.

The sight that greeted him made him think of what Mogli would look like if he was _actually_ raised by wolves.

Not that he thought a lot about Mogli. Or any other Disney movie for that matter, but right now, the demon brat looked like… Well… demonic.

Coiling against the furthest wall, clothes soiled with blood and God knows what else, shoulder bended awkwardly, probably dislocated, teeth bared like the feral child that he was.

Totally raised by wolves.

"Well, don't you look like shit. What happened? Family reunion?" faced with silence again, Jason felt compelled to add "You know, with the wolves."

That actually got a reaction out of Damian, a minimal one, sure, barely a twitch in his brow, just enough for Jason to know that the kid was listening and to remember that the whole Mogli conclusion only happened in his head.

He stepped closer and Damian tensed, ready to spring into action, probably planning to pounce on Jason and eat his face or something.

There was more blood pooling on the floor next to Damian's legs. Not much, but enough to prove he was hurt.

"You're bleeding." Jason stated leaning towards the kid and actually heard him growl low in the throat, like a fucking cornered animal "Wow, down boy! Geez, kid, somebody fucked you up pretty nicely huh?"

It was just a taunt, something to break the silence, barely even that, Jason just wasn't the kind of guy to shut up. Hell, he's said worse about and _to_ the kid, in comparison this one was kind of lame now that he thought about it, but little Robin here seemed of a different opinion.

First Damian scooted back, with a hitch of breath that sounded a lot like a sob, then his entire faced contorted into an animalistic rage, and his fingers clawed the ground as he shook and whispered "No."

Jason blinked "What?"

"NO." this time, Damian roared "You won't do that. _No one_ will ever do that to me again! I will KILL you before you even touch me! _I will kill you!_"

"Wow, kid!" Jason lifted appeasing hands, caught between trying to lean forward and step back at the same time. What the hell did he just say to make the kid act like that?

Damian movements would be the ones of a caged beast, if they weren't so broken, so painful to watch, he was almost pacing looking frantically for a way out, around Jason and out of the alley. It was just sad really.

"Hey kid." Jason tried again, mindful of not letting the kid get through him and to the street "Kid. Hey, Robin. Robin? _Damian._" that one got the attention he wanted "I'm gonna call Batman, ok? I'm not getting any closer, I'll just stay here, where you can see me, and I'm gonna call him." That seemed to calm the kid, at least he stopped dragging that dislocated shoulder back and forth and deflated just a little "I'm sure he or Red Robin can pick you up."

The thing about Jason not knowing when to just stop talking? Yeah. It happened again.

Even if Jason had no clue – again – what exactly he had said to make Damian react like that, he felt mildly guilty. As guilty as anyone with a concussion and the felling that his tongue was too big for his mouth could _really_ feel.

But the point is, as soon as Jason's mouth and too big a tongue finished that last little sentence, Damian's head shot up and he did that roaring thing again "NO." it would've worked perfectly if it wasn't for the hitched breath/sob breaking his voice at the end.

And then the kid was somehow sprinting past Jason and freaking vanishing before Jason's scrambled brain could process.

Well, that sucked.

So Jason decided to take it out on the one person that left the kid on his own on the first place.

Fucking bats.

"_The Red Hood wants to talk to you_" Oracle's voice filtered through the comm, but it took a second for Dick to understand the words.

"Jason?"

"_He says it's about Robin._"

"Put him through."

"_Who the hell was out there tonight?_" was Jason's opening line.

"Who wasn't?" Dick answered wirily "Look, Jason-"

"_No, you look, Dick. I know last time we met things were… messy._"

"Which time? When you stabbed Tim, shot Damian and tried to kill me? Or when you decided I wasn't a good enough Batman and decided to just kill everyone and make it into a reality show? I don't think 'messy' is the appropriate word."

"_I have issues,_ obviously_. I overreact. And quite frankly, fuck you. This isn't about me or whatever the hell goes through my problematic head, I just met up with your Robin and if you think I'm messed up, wait 'till you see him._"

"You've got him?" he nearly missed his landing, the relief making him light headed, out of all the unstable freaks out there, Jason surely was the best option. Especially when he sounded so… normal "Robin's with you?"

"_No, he bailed. Whatever happened, it left him edgy._"

"You let him go?!"

"_Yes, Dick. He asked so nicely, I just had to. Kid's out of his mind, you asshole! He freaked when I said I'd call you to get you or the Replacement to pick him up._"

Dick's heart sank. "Did he say anything? 'Bout what happened?"

"_No. Look, I'm way passed my word quota for the day, my head hurts from a repeated date with the curb and I just spent a very tense few minutes thinking my face was gonna get eaten. I don't know what happened, I'm not even sure I wanna know, but I had to tell you that I saw him. And I just did. So stop talking to me and go find him, bring him home._"

"You're hurt?"

"_For the love of- Go find him, Dick! Jesus. And set his shoulder, it was freaking me out._"

"Where was he?"

Tim's need to remember was just as strong as the fear of what would he find if he did.

The truth was, he knew exactly what had happened. How could he not? He got dosed with sex pollen, tuned out, and when he got back from the lust drug induced haze, he found his kid brother half naked, tied up, shying away from him.

Tim knew what happened. He just couldn't say it.

* * *

**A/N.:** Hey! This is a tag to **MatureContent's Mistake challenge**, so it won't make a lick of sense if you don't read that one first.

I apologize for any OCC-ness, but it'll probably get better, maybe not... We'll see, I guess.

Hope everyone enjoys my take on this! If there's any confusion about it, tell me and I'll post the original challenge as a first chapter, ok?

And sorry 'bout my depiction of Tim, we're not really on speaking terms, so the mais focus will probably on everyone else.

Tell me what you guys think!


	2. Not Found

Alfred was so fucking wise. He was Ben Kenobi and Yoda wrapped in Mister Miyagi with a dash of Gandalf.

He and Dick had been talking, actually Alfred talked and Dick just stood there, trying to wrap his head around the awesomeness that was the old man. It was pretty obvious why Bruce heard whatever advice came from the butler and Dick was not different in that aspect.

The words washed through him soothingly, exactly what he needed after his failed search for Damian. That is up until a single sentence hit him like a ton of bricks.

_Have you considered the possibility that Master Damian doesn't want to be found?_

Alfred's voice circled around Dick's brain in a loop while he stood staring at Tim's door.

His hand found the doorknob on its own accord, not bothering to knock. Tim was sitting on the edge of the bed, his skin was flushed pink, and if the slight fog coming out of the bathroom told anything, he'd just scalded himself with a shower.

"Any news?" Tim looked up, his eyes a little off.

Dick shook his head no. "I need to know what happened."

"I told you, I don't know."

"Yeah, you do. You don't remember most of it, but you saw him. How was he?"

Tim gritted his teeth "I don't know."

"You _said_ he was hurt. How did you know that?"

"Damian told me."

"Oh, so you zooned out after we had our little chat, when by the way you _told_ me you were okay, then you floated back to your body to find Damian going 'Hello, dearest brother! I seem to be hurt. So long now'?" the only answer he got was a scowl "Come on, man, help me out here."

"Could you tell me what I should say so you can leave?" this uncooperative act was grating Dick's nerves.

"I know you got a face full of pollen and your head's still warped all wrong, that's the only reason I'm letting that slide." Tim had the decency to look abashed, but Dick was on a roll and the next words came in a frantic growl "I _lost_ Bruce's kid. Can you wrap your addled little brain around that?" maybe he laughed, maybe he sounded hysteric "I'm supposed to _take care_ of that weirdly endearing obnoxious brat, yet he's reportedly hurt and most definitely in danger in the middle of Gotham goddamn City!" _maybe Damian doesn't want to be found_ "I want you to tell me everything, _anything_ that could help me make sense of this god-awful mess!"

"Well, Dick," Tim said snidely, his eyebrow arched mockingly and so not Tim at all "What the hell do you think happened?"

"I have an idea." was Dick's clipped answer "But I rather hear you say it."

"You want me to _say_ it?" all the sneer disappeared and Timmy was back in all his teenager angst. The words tumbled from his mouth desperately "You want me to tell you that the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Damian shying away from me? Tied up and half naked? You want me to tell you how I could barely get close enough to cut him loose, how I've never seen him _that_ terrified? How he'd rather jump off of a fucking building with no line whatsoever just so he could get away from me? You might've lost Bruce's kid, Dick, but I was the one who raped him!"

Dick had his eyes closed by the end of his little brother's rant. He took a step forward and Tim actually flinched, it made Dick second guess himself for an instant, but he took a deep breath and clasped a hand on Tim's shoulder. "It wasn't you."

Tim stared at the ground and clenched his fists "It sure as hell looked like it was me when Damian flat out told me that I hurt him."

"Did you consciously look at Damian and thought that it would be dandy to rip his pants down and-"

"God no!" Tim cut him, appalled "You know that!"

"You didn't do that. _It wasn't you._" Dick repeated, trying to put all the honesty he could muster into those words "You weren't on your right mind. It wasn't your fault."

"You really believe that?" Tim asked dubiously.

"How could I not?" Dick sighed "I know you. I know you must be…" the sentence lingered, unfinished "But I need you to keep it together now. I need… I need him back, Tim."

Tim bit his lips, face twisted with pain, but he nodded. They stayed like that for a moment, Tim stiff as a board, Dick's hand still on his shoulder.

Then Dick took a deep breath "What happened there? What did you see."

Tim talked. That same twinge of desperation coloring his voice, his movements getting wider as his posture relaxed bit by bit. Big brother sat beside him and let him spill it, their eyes not meeting, trying to make it easier.

They were both drained when it ended, but the silence felt different now.

"It wasn't your fault either." Tim said suddenly "You couldn't have known."

Dick sighed, long and slow, keeping his eyes trained on the carpet between his feet "I sent him to pick you up, barely explained what the pollen was or what it did, so yeah… You're not the only one beating yourself up." he tried a smile, but his skin felt too tight over his skull "But we'll get him back." with one last pat to his brother's back, Dick stood and making it slowly to the door "We'll make things right."

Tim frowned and spoke after a beat "I don't think that's possible anymore."

_Maybe Damian doesn't want to be found._

Dick closed his eyes again for a second, and glanced back "We'll find him."

Robin was declared officially missing.

But Jason couldn't make himself worry about the kid, every Robin deserved a little freak out every once in a while and if anyone could take care of themselves on the street, it was the demon brat. So let him run wild for a while and blow off some steam, he'll go back on his own, abashed and ashamed – or whatever passed for it with this particular problem child –, Dick would tear him a new one and that would be that. Maybe they'd even ground the kid.

That would be hilarious.

It made Jason itch to hop by the manor and make Damian watch Mowgli with him.

Truthfully, Jason knew Damian hated him – though he didn't take it personally, since the kid hated everyone – but after their little moment that other night, Jason felt… Sentimental.

Broken things and torn Robin suits gave him feelings.

But with his idea about the overall picture of what had happened, it was a total surprise when he walked into a bar and heard about the new monster in town.

"I tell ya!" a skinny drunk shouted angrily "That thing jumped out of nowhere, like a leprechaun on crack and beat the shit out of us!"

It really looked like it, the dude was missing a couple of front teeth, one black eye, the other swelled shut, and Jason couldn't even see the rest of him.

"That's what you get messing with that mutants gang, dipshit." another guy, mostly hidden behind a thick curtain of smoke cackled at his own comment eliciting a low laugh from the others.

"It wasn't the mutants, I tell ya!" skinny drunk bellowed "I never seen anything like it! At first I thought it was one of them little street punks, but it moved quick as a bat out of hell and it gleamed a terrible yellow! I'm damn sure it was radioactive!"

"Hhmm!" smoke covered guy hummed appreciatively "Chernobyl monsters."

The jab made Jason smirk, but the really delightful part was that Skinny Drunk didn't even realize how right he was when he guessed 'a bat out of hell'.

"And where did you find the radioactive leprechaun?" Jason drawled over his beer.

"Ya don't believe me?" Skinny Drunk stood puffing his chest in a challenge. It made him look like a chicken "Look at what that thing did to me!"

"I couldn't care less if you were beaten to shit by a ten year old dressed as Robin" that got a laugh out of everyone "I just wanna know _where_ it happened."

"Why?"

Jason's eyes nearly crossed. Couldn't people just collaborate? Seriously, this was grating on his nerves. Whatever happened to respecting the huge dude asking the questions? No, now everyone was banging his head on stuff and trying to eat his face.

"Why not?"

"Don't need no one pretending to go out there and dealing with the little monster. I'll handle that myself."

"Okay" said Jason with a restraint he didn't really feel as he moved effortlessly through tables and drunk people, a gun appearing on his hand and pointing directly to Skinny Drunk "Handle this first."

Skinny Drunk started to sputter, probably trying to choke on his own tongue, and most of the other guys moved away hastily. Loyalty was rarely on the menu with crowds like this.

"Just tell him, already!" Smoke Covered Guy sounded so bored, like this wasn't unusual at all "Jeez…"

Jason pressed the gun to Skinny Drunk's forehead, hard enough to leave a round mark "Yeah, man… _Now_ is the time talk."

New lead in hand, Jason felt awfully chipper, and in dire need to rub that in someone's face.

"For someone so good at stalking, you're pretty shitty at coming up with the good info, Replacement."

"_Not now, Jason._"

He hung up. The fucking replacement hung up on him!

After gawking for a second, unable to believe that the one time he most certainly _not_ dicking around, the fucking bats decide to ignore him.

Now if he's having a mental breakdown and just happens to be waving a gun around? Oh well, _then_ he's gonna hear about it for the rest of his second fucking life!

Goddamn it, now he just has to go after Damian himself, find him, manhandle the kid home and while there? Jason's gonna knock the replacement's teeth out.

It seems only fair.

And sure, it was fun and easy to mock the replacement for being crap at finding clues about Damian, but actually tracking down the little shit? What a nightmare.

Even with the info Skinny Drunk gave him, Jason was barely even sure he was at the right place; he was considering going back to the bar and discussing the radioactive leprechaun theory when he found the first sign.

No wonder Dick and Douche had a problem finding Damian, badass League training made the kid pretty amazing at being invisible, thing is, Jason also had badass League training and could see through the attempt to cover his little demonic ass.

Ok, that's not entirely true, after all this was Damian; nothing was ever easy when he was involved.

But Jason, unlike some people, was not complete shit at this and managed to follow the trail to the end. Unfortunately, it ended at the back of a bakery and that didn't make any sense.

Not the trail vanishing – fucking 10 year old ninja assassin with his disappearing skills – that seemed accurate, if not predictable, but what the hell would the kid be doing at the bakery?

But the tiny, ridiculously little clues that the kid had been leaving so sporadically multiplied there, like he'd been there a lot, for longer amounts of time, and then it hit Jason.

How long had the kid been missing? A week? 10 days? He was hungry.

He was so hungry he'd been shuffling through whatever the bakery threw out.

Crap. Now Jason was… argh. Relating.

This sucked.

In fact Jason was slightly disappointed; he thought this one would do well out here, or at least that he wouldn't… turn trash for food. That was something you did _before_ you found yourself in tights playing roof tag, not after.

But a lead was a lead, the kid had been there more than once and if Jason gut was right, he'd be back soon. It was just a matter of waiting and Jason had all the time in the world.

Well… It was to be expected, but…

Waiting was fucking _boring_.

There was only so much you can do to distract yourself while in complete silence and still trying to pay some degree of attention to your surroundings.

So. Fucking. Boring.

He was seriously considering giving himself a sharpie tattoo when finally – _finally_ – something happened.

Unfortunately it was just a big woman putting out the trash. Jason groaned and shifted, bones creaking with the movement.

Maybe this was just a fucked up idea from the start.

Maybe Damian had just been there as long as it was convenient and now was long gone to never come back.

Maybe the little monster had left the trail leading there as a joke or a decoy and was lounging somewhere and laughing his-

Oh look, there he is.

The kid landed on silent feet, and though Jason couldn't see much of him, it was pretty obvious his cape was filthy. The yellow dulled out by grit and dirty and maybe blood? Not entirely impossible.

This was all wrong. What the hell was this kid doing here looking as if he'd been used to clean all the gutters in the city, that disgusting looking cape draped tightly around him, shielding himself, getting closer and closer to that trash can?

Jason frowned. Just that. He didn't even breath, but it was like the freaking _sound_ of his eyebrows coming together drew Damian's attention to him.

For a tense second, Jason thought Damian would bolt, but the kid took a slow step forward, neck craned in Jason's general direction, clearly not intimidated at all. In fact, looking like he wanted a fight.

What a little creep.

Jason came out of his hiding place and Damian recoiled, tensing all over, waiting for an attack.

"Oh, come on kid, not this again." Jason complained, impatiently lifting his unarmed hands "We both know that if I wanted to hurt you, I'd just shoot you. Wouldn't even need to come this close."

It showed a lot about Damian's twisted sense of reality when that appeased him a bit.

"I just wanna talk" Jason kept going "Can we talk?"

* * *

**A/N.:** I just don't know, it seemed like a good place to stop.

I was pretty overwhelmed with the response I was getting with this, and I'd like to thank you all! I apologize to Tim's fans, he and I are trying to get along, but we just have different believes (what am I even saying?).

Oh yeah! And just so you guys know, I just recently learned that Mowgli has a W on it. So yeah, sorry. I'm foreing I don't know any better.

Hope everyone enjoys this!


	3. Little Red Riding Hoodie

Apparently talking was out of the question, since Damian didn't utter a single sound.

"Can I step closer?" Jason asked doing that already "I'm stepping closer."

Damian stood there impassively, face blank, a hand curled around the cape that was now covering the shoulder Jason remembered being dislocated.

"Have you been living on the street?" no answer "You do remember you're filthy rich, right?"

Nothing.

Crappy time for the kid to learn to restrain himself, Jason was definitely counting on him rising to the bait.

"I'm gonna look at your shoulder." Damian inched back, so Jason talked quickly "It was dislocated and you kept dragging it around the last time I saw you, pretty messed up. You got me all worried and that's not nice. So I'm gonna check your shoulder." Jason's steps were deliberate and slow, the last thing he wanted was to scare the little – he never actually looked _that_ little before – boy into disappearing again "And I would appreciate if you didn't stab me in the eye or something."

It was pretty nerve racking not being able to see the kid's eyes, his posture was just as stiff as ever, so it didn't help at all, but Jason kept going. He began to peel Damian's cape away from him, but the tiny fingers that were wrapped around it a second before now were in a vice-like grip on Jason's wrist. No ten-year-old should be that strong.

"I just wanna look for a second. I'm not going to touch you if you don't want me to." Damian frowned at that and faced away from Jason, who took it as – a very _weird_ – permission to pry Damian's fingers open.

He knelt in front of the kid, watching him carefully and moving the cape back. Damian's shoulder was slightly dropped, healing, but not out of the socket anymore "I had to set my own shoulder once" he said probing the kid's arm, checking the damage "I was alone, feeling pretty goddamn stupid in those hot pants, kinda wishing my arm would just fall off… But Daddy Bats was nowhere around and the thugs kept coming. I knew what to do, still hurt like a bitch though. Did you do this yourself?"

Pretty stupid question, obviously the kid had done what he could to patch himself up with his limited resources, but if he kept talking, maybe the kid would answer.

Not this time.

There was a hiss though, and Damian grabbed Jason's index finger and twisted it back, as far as it could go, then _very slowly_, he kept pushing, tilting his head like a puppy – a deranged puppy – as he watched Jason's hand bend in an unnatural angle. Jason figured he must've hit some particularly painful spot during his examinations, but it didn't change the fact that the kid was seconds away from snapping his finger.

"Hey, little dude?" Jason called, making sure to keep his already strained voice calm "You're breaking my finger."

Damian's head snapped up, as if the words made him realize what he was doing, and the pressure eased considerably, even if the finger was not released just yet.

Jason wanted to say something. Needed actually, because Damian had those blank lenses staring at him and was still gripping his finger – not to mention that scabbing cut on his dirt smeared cheek – it was all so messed up…

But the moment was cut short when the big woman who was putting the trash out earlier showed up again. Holding a shotgun. Pointing directly to Jason's face.

God fucking damn it.

"Let him go." she demanded shakily and Jason wanted to bang his head on the wall.

Leave it to him and Rosemary's baby to find the _only_ person in Gotham who is willing to care about what happens in alleys after dark.

But the _really_ funny part was the kid. He let go of Jason's finger instantly, lifting his hands with his palms out, because he, the ten year old, was the obvious threat. Yeah.

Well aware of how he'd look if he laughed, Jason stood, giving Damian's shoulder a tentative pat before turning to the woman, making sure to shield the little one with his body.

"Lady, I'm sorry if we disturbed your evening or whatever, but we kinda need some privacy here."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jason realized how they sounded.

"I called the cops." her hands were shaking, this could go to hell pretty quickly "Come here, sweetie." she cooed, motioning for Damian.

_Sweetie._ What a fucking riot. "Look, while I appreciate the lengths you're going through to make sure the sweetheart here is safe" through his peripherals, Jason saw Damian's head shooting up to probably glare at him "But since he's _my_ baby brother, I got it covered."

Her eyes narrowed, but the grip on the shotgun became steadier. "Is that true, sweetie? You can come with me, you know? I'll help you."

Ok. Moment of truth.

Damian could live up to his counterpart from The Omen and Jason would get a face full of shotgun, _or_...

Big Lady lowered the gun slowly, still suspicious as she shifted her eyes from Damian to Jason and back.

"If you need me, honey, I'll be right in there" she pointed to the door, shooting Jason a dirty look before going back in.

With a sigh and a low chuckle, Jason rubbed his eyes before turning back to Damian.

… Who was not there.

"Oh, for the love of fuck." a quick sweep around showed no scowling brat whatsoever "Come on, little dude! We were getting along so well." Jason let his head hang back and stared at the sky for a moment "Fine. I'm buying you dinner tomorrow, so you better be here!"

Jason strained his ears for the answer he was sure wouldn't come, and was not disappointed.

Argh. Why did he even care?

Dick knew the nature of this game they played, this crazy thing they called life. He and Jason liked it for the thrill, not the same thrill of course, since Jason had lost it a long time ago and was now disgracing Bruce's teachings, the Robin legacy and whatever else he could get his hands on by killing people.

But he got it. The thrill of the hunt, the rush of freefalling from a rooftop before swinging into safety. That was what moved them. They might've started with other reasons in mind, hell, he could only imagine what Jason would say if asked now, but in the end, all that really mattered was that Dick and Jason understood each other in a different level.

Even if they don't agree with the other's methods; even if the Red Hood didn't realize it.

Tim and Bruce on the other hand were fuelled by something else. The adrenaline was a bonus, not the main reason, with them it was all about obsession. The mystery. Solving the clues. Putting the puzzle together.

It's what made them great. They were detectives before anything else.

Dick understood that. And this understanding was probably the only thing that was keeping him from beating the living daylights out of Tim.

Since Damian was declared missing everyone had had mixed feelings about the situation. Some thought he was just being spoiled and moody and would turn up soon. Others thought he was hurt, probably dead, and if Dick was honest with himself, they didn't seem to care either way.

At last there he was, Stephanie alongside him. Sometimes it felt like they were the only ones who cared. Truth be told, nobody – not even Steph – knew the whole truth about what happened.

Not yet, anyway, and Dick intended to keep it like that forever, if possible, but it didn't make it any easier for him to realize that all the people he cared for only tolerated Damian for being Bruce's kid.

He wasn't being a hypocrite, not really. He'd gone through that phase, sure, but now he was experiencing first hand all of Damian's evolution, all his sacrifice to do what he was just learning was the right thing to do.

It almost felt like a reversed Jason – going from deranged killer to following the Bat laws. Maybe that's why this felt so important on top of everything else.

Or perhaps Dick was reading too hard into this.

Most likely he was trying to distract himself, because every time he turned to see Tim in the same position in front of the computer, he _really_ wanted to kick the shit out of his brother.

The monitor shone blue light onto Tim and Dick thought that if he stared hard enough, he'd be able to see the numbers and letters his brother was working on reflected on his pale face.

Red Robin wasn't patrolling anymore, his whole time was dedicated into creating a serum, a cure for… well, everything. Joker's venom, Ivy's pollen, all sorts of gases, if Tim had it his way, the whole family would be immune to it all forever.

At first Dick thought it was a nice thought, Tim was trying to make his guilt into something useful. It was an impossible feat, of course, but you know… a nice thought.

Then the obsession kicked in.

Any attempt of reasoning fell on deaf ears, Tim just kept working on his miracle formula.

"That disgusting _thing_… What I did to Damian" Tim would say, barely blinking "It will never happen again."

See? It's nice.

"You haven't slept in days. I can't remember the last time you ate." Dick would counter-argue "I need your help, Tim."

"I am helping."

Not really, no. But you can see the nice thoughts floating all around.

"That can wait until after we find him."

"No it can't." Tim would sigh, because they already talked about this. Many times "If Bruce had thought of it before, none of this would've even happened. This is long overdue."

And then Dick would want to flip Tim's chair and step on his neck. So Dick would leave instead.

This time, before leaving, he lingered in the doorway "Anyone called?"

"Jason."

It was pretty hysterical how Dick perked up at that "What did he say? Did he find something?"

"I dunno."

"What?"

Tim shrugged, fingers never missing a beat while typing "He was just being a jerk, calling to taunt me over Damian. Like he even knows anything."

Dick did leave then, he could deal with Tim obsessiveness later.

He had another– kind of – brother to find now. Because finding the first one had been such a cakewalk.

Jason's pretty sure Dick's after him. Batman's been hovering around Red Hoods part of town and it was seriously annoying. Come the fuck on, Bats, make up your mind. Either you want help or you don't. Jason ain't got time for this bipolar shit.

He's got a kid to feed.

The day had been slow and boring, he didn't even try to look for Damian, not in the mood for a frustrating and bound to fail search, he did check to see if he found anyone else who had been beaten by a radioactive leprechaun or anything as remotely stupid.

Turns out Damian's been a very busy – psychotic – little bee. With a cigarette between his lips, Jason pressed colorful pins on a map, marking each place one of the sorry looking bastards he'd met told him they encountered whatever violent mythical creature their scrambled brains came up with.

Funny that in a town like Gotham, people got their asses handed to them while doing unsavory activities, and they still thought it was the work of a monster instead of an unstable vigilante.

Superstitious and cowardly lot indeed.

The epicenter of his pins is the bakery. Shocking, only not.

Damian had been kicking ass and not bothering to take names while coming and going for his nightly snack. And from the way the pins were scattered, Jason suspected the kid never stayed the same place twice, in fact, he probably wasn't even sleeping, just kept moving until morning.

The crimes he'd been taking on were so small they fell under the Bats radar, stuff that happened in back alleys while the Scarecrow was proclaiming some horrifying – and somehow incredibly boring – master plan.

The kid knew his business, he didn't wanna be found but he still wanted to help people and was doing a kick ass job out of it. When he was not eating out of the trash, that is.

Still, Jason wondered as he took a drag of his cigarette: what the hell happened that first night?

The more he thought about it, the more obvious it became that none of this was just a bitch fit. Jason knew a thing or two about bitch fits, and in each and every one he had in his time as Robin, all he wanted was for Bruce to find him and take him back, not that he would ever, _ever_ say it aloud. Ever.

And if Dick was trying to track Jason down, it was because Damian was still missing. And no one that wants to be found can hide that well.

Jason decided that if – and that was a big if – Dick caught up to him on his way to Damian, he'd tell Golden Boy everything. It didn't mean he'd make it any easier for any of that to happen.

So, Jason decided to go old school – red hoodie under a leather jacket – and hit the most obscure diner he could think of to grab a couple of burgers, fries and milkshakes.

Not exactly the healthiest of meals, but hey, after all the garbage burgers surely were an upgrade.

The route was different too, through back streets, where people don't look at you in the eye and don't care where you're going, what you're doing or who you're doing it with. Jason was proud to say he didn't look up once searching for signs of people impersonating animals.

He got there a bit later than planned, and the possibility that Damian already came and went loomed over the empty alley. Maybe the kid never showed up at all.

And wasn't it sad that Jason felt like the fat girl on prom, waiting for that little shit, knowing he was probably being stood up.

Oh well. He only hoped Big Lady had already retired for the night, 'cause that would be a crappy talk.

Dropping the bag of food, Jason slid down the wall 'till he was seated and crossed his legs at the ankles. He'd wait for as long as it wasn't pathetic, then he'd leave before he found himself with a load of Dick bitching about Jason not sharing the info.

Jason turned his face up and closed his eyes, because he already knew, even before starting, that waiting was so fucking boring, and this time wouldn't be any different.

He only forgot that Damian loved to shoot people's expectations to hell.

The slight shift of fabric was the only sign that anything had changed, and Jason tilted his head to the direction of the sound and was met with the dirtiest looking Robin he had ever seen.

He already knew that, he remembered how Damian had looked the night before, but it still baffled him.

"Hey, kid…" his voice was lowered than he expected, almost a whisper. Damian didn't move, so Jason glanced at the paper bag by his side "Dig in."

Damian shuffled closer silently and peered at the bag, frowning all along and if someone says Jason smiled at that, he'll deny it.

The kid settled beside Jason, keeping the bag between them, knees brought up to his chin, caped pulled tightly around him. Jason stopped staring as tiny fingers crept from beneath the cape inching slowly to the cooling food and turned his face upwards again.

"As a kid, I would kill for a Happy Meal." he paused to appreciate the tiny sound of Damian eating "I mean it was food that came with a toy, to me it was the second coming of Jesus wrapped in french fries. Ever had one? Guess not."

Jason droned on about Happy Meals and all the toys he only had if he managed to steal from some distracted kid. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to portray stealing being that fun, but it was. It might be wrong, but the thrill it brought was freaking amazing, the only really bad part – other than… you know, the person who had something stolen from them – was to get caught.

So he left that part out. If Damian noticed, he didn't seem to mind, just kept eating, quietly listening to Jason's babbling.

The mindless stories came to a stop when Jason realized he needed to take a breath, his fingers itched for a cigarette. He kinda expected Damian to be gone by the time he turned, but the kid was there, arms crossed over his knees, chin resting on his hand, body turned in Jason's direction, white lenses staring up. Damian rubbed his cheek on his knuckles, but otherwise stayed the same.

"Bet that mask is itching like a bitch." Jason lifted a slow hand towards Damian's face "I already know who you are and the big lady with the shotgun is probably sleeping already, so you can take it off if you want." Damian's back was stiff and straight, neck so taught Jason could see the tendons popping up, but his hand was still making way "Can I take it off for you?"

The kid's silence looked a lot like permission, so Jason fingertip touched his cold – _freezing_ – cheek "Just don't bite my finger off, ok?"

Taking off the mask wasn't like ripping a band aid, it could be, but it would hurt like wow, so he took his time, easing it off the already irritated skin. Damian kept his eyes closed throughout the whole thing, only blinking them open when Jason gave the ok.

It was freaky how much the kid reminded Jason of Talia. Sure, there was Bruce in there, but that mouth? Talia. The whole way he carried himself, that golden hue of his skin, even the eyes, the shape and color – tough the blue looked electric in contrast to Damian's complexion – might've been Bruce's, but the way the stared, that perpetually frowny cat-like gaze? All Talia.

It gave him a queasy feeling he couldn't quite explain.

He tried to pick away most of glue left on the kid's face, but the skin was turning an angry red, so he stopped. "You ok?"

With his minute frown in place, Damian blinked his mother's ridiculously long lashes and nodded jerkily.

Jason's heart froze. That nod could've been a slap and it wouldn't have surprised Jason as much.

"That's good." he said, running a quick hand over the kid's chilled head "That's good."

Mime. He could do mime.

Nods and shakes of the head, maybe they could come up with a blinking system or something.

While his mind tried to work out a code that would work, he absently took off his jacket followed by the hoodie, only stopping when Damian moved so fast he practically teleported a few feet away.

"Hey, hey!" he called but Damian kept stepping back "Little dude…" Jason pleaded "Just… Here!" he tossed his hoodie to the kid's feet "You're freezing cold. I won't come close, just… Put that on."

Damian hesitated a bit, then picked the hoodie up. Jason mirrored his movements and got back in his jacket, painfully aware of how the boy looked even smaller in his clothes.

Unfortunately their little moment was over and Damian was about to use his ninja his way out of there. In his new gown of a hoodie.

"I'm bringing you dinner tomorrow" Jason called to Damian's retreating back "You coming?"

The Little Red Ninja Hood slowed down enough to turn and nod his yes before losing himself in the darkness.

Jason stared at the spot the kid occupied just a second ago and grinned "Fuck yeah! Progress!"

And they had a pretty sweet routine going.

Until Dick finally caught up with Jason three days later, that is.

* * *

**A/N.:** If any of you draw any of the JasonxDamian interaction from this chapter, I'll seriously die. (and dedicate a future chapter to the artist, of course)

Again, I'm left gushing from the awesome feedback, and I seriously hope this chapter keeps everyone's interest.

Reviews are very, _very_ much aprpeciated.


	4. Playing favorites

"_Why_ are you hiding from me?" Dick growled and Jason would be snickering if not for the 180 pounds of bat crushing him to the ground.

"I wasn't." he rasped.

"You called Red Robin four days ago. Why?"

"Your knee's blocking my trachea." Jason barely got that out, starting to feel lightheaded.

"You can say 'trachea', you can talk."

Whatever snappy comeback Jason could come up with left his mind as he concentrated in not turning blue. "What was the question?"

"Your call to Red Robin. Why did you do it?"

It could've been the lack of oxygen, but that question sounded goddamn stupid. Jason stared up at Dick – who was also goddamn stupid in that cowl – and went for a bemused look. He was pretty sure he got cross-eyed, because the pressure on his throat became bearable "Why do I do anything that I do?"

"He thinks you were taunting him."

"I was!"

Dick got up with a groan, and Jason wanted to follow suit, but then decided to just stay there on floor a second. It couldn't hurt. Any more, that is.

When he finally made it back to his body, Dick was ranting without even checking to see if Jason was keeping up.

"… how could they even think that? I mean come on! And now I have you on top of everything just dicking around! Tim told me you were clueless, but did I believe him? Nooooo… I just _had_ to come looking for you!"

"Woah, there! Hold on. That ass said _what_ about me?" Jason's body sat up instantly "That replacing fucker! And what does he know about the little dude? Fucking nothing I bet!" he stood, running a hand through his hair "Red Robin hasn't even been patrolling, which by the way is his fucking _job_, how is he even helping? Huh? Séance sessions? Fuck him! Fuck you too, while we're at it."

After his little tirade, Jason felt oddly light as he turned to stare at a suspiciously silent Dick.

Maybe it was time to bring out the big guns. Literally. His hand inched to the pistol he kept on the small of his back when Dick spoke again "You really do know something, don't you?"

"What?"

"You sneaky bastard!" Dick was grinning like a maniac, which would be disturbing enough if he wasn't in the bat costume. In it? It was freaking bizarre "You've seen him! You didn't call to mock Tim because he didn't found anything, how could you even know if he did or not? You called to gloat!"

Why the hell couldn't Jason have been doing both? Mocking Tim _and_ gloating. Seemed simple enough.

"Do I look like a guy with a plan?" Jason gestured to himself, to the holes on his jeans and his battered jacket "I called 'cause I was bored and your precious Timmy is an easy target."

"Bullshit." ok, grinning Batman was eerie, but cussing Batman was making Jason's skin crawl. Sure, being Red Hood desecrated the Bat legacy and what the fuck ever, but that abomination Dick was making of the cowl was ok. Always with the double standards. "Oh, goddamn it, you're holding him hostage, aren't you?"

Jason's eye twitched and the gun found its way to his hand and pointed itself to Dick's face before he could even think about it.

But Dick was still a dick and just seemed amused "Guess not, then." then a little more serious "You know I had to ask."

"I _know_ that you seriously need to get out of my face before I decide giving you a mouthful of led is worth the trouble."

All the humor disappeared from Dick as he did a pretty good rendition of Bruce's pensive and brooding Bat "I need to know that he's ok, Jason."

"And how would I know that?" he asked nonchalantly, aim still trained on Dick's cheek.

But the unpredictable fucker had to go and take off the cowl, throwing Jason completely out of balance "Jason-"

"What the _fuck_ are you doing?" Jason gave a frantic look around and hid the gun back on his waistband "Put that thing back on!"

"I need you to realize how serious this is."

"Yeah, yeah, it's serious, I'm not retarded. Put the goddamn cowl back on."

"I think you don't-"

"He's fine, asshole!" the sheer relief on Dick's eyes makes Jason shift his weight awkwardly "Now cover that ugly ass face."

"Where is he?" Dick asked, Batman back in place.

"No clue."

Now the Batman _voice_ made an appearance "You just said he is fine."

"He is. I met with him, doesn't mean I know where he is right now."

"Okay, so where did you meet him?" Jason shrugged "Come on, dude, I have to talk to him. Drag his punk ass home. You _told_ me to do that, why are you being so difficult now?"

"I just don't think it's a very good idea." Jason watched as Dick's jaw worked and imagined if the Golden Boy was chewing on his tongue to keep so still "The kid has kinda gone mute."

"Jason?" there was so much restraint in that one word Dick almost sounded British.

"Yes, Richard?"

"We need to work on your definition of 'fine'." British Dick was turning to Pissed off Dick pretty quick "Going mute is not _fine_."

"But he _is_ fine, he can nod and shit, it's not like he's completely incommunicado." a silent second "You wanna hit me don't you?"

"Kind of, yeah"

"But you won't. Because I'm handling this."

Jason really did try not to sound cocky, it took him a restraint he didn't know he possessed, but Dick's grimace showed him he failed.

"I don't know…"

"What don't you know? You can't find him. Sure, you can _try_ to beat me up, it doesn't mean you'll find him." with the impending ass kicking looming over them, Jason sighed and added "We were friends before I… We were friends, weren't we? For all of five seconds, sure, but we were. Right?"

That caught Dick out of guard "I guess…"

"If you ever considered me a friend, if you ever, _ever_ trusted me even if just a little, you will let me do this."

"You cannot play the trust card. Not with me."

"Yeah, well, I'm doing it. Look, for whatever reason the kid doesn't wanna go home, and I have no idea why, but he seems to trust me. I just can't betray that. Let me talk to him first, then you can go and ruin all the progress I made."

"Fine." Dick agreed even if he made it seem like he was doing Jason a huge favor "But I'm gonna keep looking for him, and if I find him, I'll do this my way."

"Go, find, do. See if I care."

"But you do, you stubborn ass."

And with that Dick was gone leaving Jason alone and wondering.

He went through the motions of buying food – chilly dogs. No one could blame him for being nostalgic after _that_ little chat – and going to the kid blindly, couldn't even remember the walk there, his mind reeling with more pressing concerns.

Damian noticed Jason's odd behavior and showed it with a quirk of eyebrow and a tilt of the head, but as per usual, never said a thing.

They ate in companionable silence, Jason lost in thought and Damian stealing glances from him from time to time until Jason finished his second chilly dog. He turned to find Damian staring at him with his mouth full and chewing slowly.

"Hey little dude, you wanna sleep in a bed tonight?"

Jason really was being an ass, even he knew that, but he was provoked into it.

Being told that he cared straight to his face kinda left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, so he obviously had to retaliate in some creative douchy way. The only thing that came up off the top of his head was to take the kid to one of his safe houses.

It had occurred to him before, but there was no way in hell Damian would agree to it skittish as the kid was, but Jason hadn't been joking about the trust thing. And if Damian had wanted to go to Dick, he would've talked to him. Or mimed to him, whichever.

But he didn't. He'd rather pick fights with petty criminals and get little to no sleep on the streets. Time to face the music, Jason was now the favorite brother, whatever that meant. Sorry, Dickhead.

Sure, Jason wouldn't keep Dickie out of the loop forever, he just wanted to screw with him a bit and let Damian know what was up. _After_ the kid washed all that dirt and grime off of him and Jason could check his injuries properly, maybe even without getting any broken fingers in the process.

Jason watched as Damian stopped on the threshold and peered beyond the edges of his hood, taking in the safe house. For a second, Jason thought he'd have to chase after the kid, could just picture the boy bolting through the hallways and back to the street, but no. The little shit strolled in like he owned the place, marching up to the middle of the room and turning to face Jason with an arched brow, expecting something.

"Go take a shower, you ain't touching shit in here filthy like that."

The narrowed look Damian shot him, along with the crossed arms, almost made him look like his old self, Jason held his breath trying not to expect some sort of indignant outburst, and sighed when the kid simply glanced in the direction of the bathroom and back at him.

"Yeah, through that door. I'll get you some clothes."

Clothes.

Jason didn't think about that. Everything he owned would be huge on Damian.

He almost regretted his pigheaded nature, he should just call Dick and get this over with. Taking care of kids was so _hard_.

Ok. No panic, he'd find something, this safe house had some pretty old stuff, some that he never even worn, just stashed there for a moment of need. Like this.

He found some boxer shorts that could pass for actual shorts, even had that string thingy on the waist, and a t-shirt that had shrunk horribly in an attempt to wash away some – a lot of – blood. In the end, it was too tight for Jason to wear without looking like a male hooker, especially with the red stains turned into a freaky pink tie-dye.

He could try to find something else, but the thought of Damian having to wear his hooker t-shirt was just priceless. Oh, he'd burn in hell for… well a lot of things, but this was probably like, top 10.

"Yo! Clothes!" he called by the bathroom door and was hit with a Robin outfit, managing to push it off his head in time to see a little dripping wet hand grabbing the folded clothes and disappearing back into the bathroom.

Still grinning, Jason headed back to the living room and heard a noise coming from the _front_ door. He just stood there, staring at it for a long moment, because there was seriously someone trying to break in.

It was common knowledge that gothamites were stupid, but suicidal? That was a first.

He bit his lips considering letting the punk in before scarring him for life, but decided to just open the door with no preamble and kick his insane ass in the hallway for trying that stupid stunt in the first place.

"You wanna die, punk?" he did his best Batman impersonation and worried about breaking into a fit of laughter for a full second before he realized that there, on his knees, was Dick Grayson.

The Original Boy Wonder was trying to pick his lock.

There was only one logical reaction to that: Jason slammed the door shut on Dick's face.

"Jason, let me in!"

"How the hell did you find me?" he wasn't followed, he was sure.

"I'm Batman, man, I know stuff."

"You broke into each one of my safe houses, didn't you?"

"… No." and now he needed new ones.

"Go away!" Jason leaned back on the door, letting his head fall back with a _thump_ "Why were you even picking the lock?"

"Richard Grayson can't be seen jumping around on rooftops or going through windows."

"I thought you were _Batman_." he said scornfully, and it's like... 3 in the morning, who the hell would be looking?

"Not right now, I came in peace, Little Wing."

Oh, hell no. "You can't play the Little Wing card with me."

"Yeah, well, I'm doing it."

With his words thrown back at his face, Jason tentatively opened the door. "What do you want?"

"Can't I just check on you?" Jason was about to slam the door again, but Dick saw it coming and splayed a hand on the wood "Come on, Jason!"

They both heard something that sounded a lot like a gasp and turned to see Damian running from the bathroom, his wet feet making him slide a little before coming to a full stop.

"You all right, little dude?" Jason asked, turning away from Dick completely and got cuffed upside the head for his trouble.

"You said you didn't know where he was!"

"Shut up, Dick. Damian? You good?"

Sure enough the kid was in Jason's boxer shorts and hooker t-shirt with the red hoodie on top of it all and the only thing that kept Jason from showing off his status as favorite brother was the expression on Damian's face. Kid looked like he was about to have a stroke, face contorted into something between scared shitless and fucking livid.

For a second there, Jason relived that first night in the alley with the feral child and feared for the safety of his face, but then it hit him. The kid was acting normal – well, almost – all night, the only thing that changed was-

"What did you do?" he growled at Dick, getting in his face, up close and personal.

"What?"

"You fucking did something, look at him!"

When both pairs of grown up eyes turned to him again, Damian did that tiny roaring thing at the back of his throat that freaked Jason the fuck out and stalked away to the bedroom.

"Damian!" Dick called and tried to step in the safe house, Jason held him back.

"What the fuck happened?"

"You should know, you've been hiding him."

"The mute thing made things tricky. Now you can tell me what the fuck did you do, or we can wait for him to come back and handicap your ass!"

"Come on, man…"

"Did you see how pissed he looked? I bet he's looking for knives and he'll find them in there! He's gonna carve you and I won't stop him."

"Jason, I can't-"

"Better yet, I'll hold you down and let him do his thing."

They tried to stare each other down, but Dick's eyes kept drifting to where Damian disappeared into, so Jason won by default. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as it should've been.

Jason sighed "Why didn't he go to you?"

"_I don't know._" if Dick looked any less desperate, Jason would've decked him right then and there.

"Get the fuck out."

"You think I'm going now that I just found him?"

"Yeah. Go!"

Again with the staring down thing. Dick looked ready to come to blows, the thing is, Jason was way beyond ready.

Dick might be faster, but Jason's stronger.

Dick might've been the perfect Robin, but Jason fought dirty.

Dick might even be right, but Jason's pissed off.

The silence carried a sort of understanding that didn't really make any sense to Jason, still Dick backed off and that was good enough.

"Keep me posted." Dick told him in a no nonsense voice that had Jason rolling his eyes so hard it hurt.

"Fuck off." he closed the door.

"I mean it!" Dick shouted anyway.

"Go away, Dick!"

"I'll be here tomorrow!" the second shout sounded further, but nowhere distant enough for Jason's liking.

What a fucking mess.

Jason crumbled on the couch, leaning his elbows on his knees and shoving the heels of his hands in his eyes. The sound of bare feet padding the floor was barely there.

"If you're gonna sneak out, I want those clothes back. Washed." he said just for the sake of saying something, he couldn't care less about the clothes.

Lifting his face, it took him a second to blink away the black spots from his eyes and focus on Damian, who was making a pretty good attempt to disappear inside the hoodie, hands on his pockets, hood pulled up.

"Were you? Sneaking out?"

Damian shook his head and Jason nodded back slightly, leaning back and taking a deep breath.

"Is Dick the reason you're on the run? Did he do something to you?" again, another denial "Ok, good. Let's get you settled in."

He got up and to get some blankets in the bedroom "So, when I mention 'bed' earlier, I used the term _very_ loosely."

Back to the living room, Jason threw the blankets on the couch and grinned at Damian "I really meant that." The kid scowled deeply at the couch "Oh, I'm so sorry Your Royal Majesty Bat Heir. Keep giving me that face and I'll throw you on your ass!"

And then Damian smiled.

Here's the thing about Damian's smiles, they weren't the regular curl of lips with a flash of teeth. No, that would be way too ordinary, with this midget disguised as a child smiles were wide eyes, a quirked brow and slightly parted lips. They were the lack of a frown. More of a possibility of a smile than the actual thing.

And damn if it didn't make Jason smirk right back.

"If you need me, I'll be in there" he pointed to the bedroom over his shoulder, Damian nodded distractedly, busy arranging his blankets, so before he could regret it, Jason added "You can talk, you know? To me. You don't need to, but you know. You can."

God, he was such a girl.

In an attempt to salvage whatever was left of his dignity he just slipped into the bedroom and pretended that never happened.

Only then he realized that he just kicked out his way out this mess. Not his most clever moment.

It was just that... This fucking kid crept up on him so hard, Jason was a step away from jumping out the freaking window yelling 'It's all for you, Damian! It's all for you!', and isn't that sad?

When he finally managed to lie down, his eyes closed on their own volition, only to snap open in what felt like a second later. But the sun was up – and it blinded him for a second – so he knew it wasn't a literal second. He still felt like crap though.

The insistent knock on the door that woke him in the first place is still going and it's getting insanely annoying. Jason drags himself to the living room and shares a moment of pure hatred for mankind with Damian, his bed hair and puffy eyes.

He throws the door open and for the second time in what surely must've been like half an hour, he finds Dick standing on the other side. Blinking at Grayson's smile – almost as blinding as the sun and three times more of a pain in the ass – Jason didn't know how to react, so he just slammed the door shut and relished in the déjà vu.

"Come on, Jason!" Dick whined "I told you I'd come back today."

"Yeah, but I thought you'd come at night, after patrol, like a normal person."

"But I brought doughnuts."

Jason looked over his shoulder to Damian and arched his eyebrows in consideration, because they could use some food, but the kid was busy drowning in disbelief and Jason couldn't blame him, Dick really was unbelievable.

"And coffee." Dick added when the silence became unbearable.

Well, that sealed the deal for Jason, still he kept waiting for Damian to stop staring at the door like it had disrupted his concept of reality.

"Little dude?" Jason called in what he hoped was a soothing tone and Damian's eyes snapped to him "You ready to see Dickhead?"

"I heard that!" Dick bitched.

"Shut up!" he shouted back barely turning "So, sweetie" the endearment got Damian glaring with such heat Jason could almost feel the skin of his face melting, which of course was the wanted reaction, so he grinned back "What do you say?"

Damian nodded.

* * *

**A/N.:** This is ridiculously long, but I just didn't know where to end it.

You guys have been so freaking suportive and gave me the most awesome ideas, it's a total pleasure to write this thanks to you!

And Jason just decided he would run things this chapter and I didn't have it in me to stop him, I hope you guys like it!


	5. Like dolphins can swim

Dick walked in with a smile aimed at a distraught – as much as he could get – looking Damian, then he was grabbed by the shoulders and stirred into the kitchen.

"I swear to God and the Devil, Dick, if that kid _twitches_ in your general direction, I'll shoot your knees and make you walk home."

"Golly gee! My actual home or like, the manor?"

"_Dick._" Jason was not a morning person.

"Jason, you're crowding me. Go sit, I can handle coffee and doughnuts. I _was_ a cop, you know."

Dick held it together with a nice little smile until Jason stepped back into the living room glaring all the way, to only then grab the edges of the sink and take a deep calming breath.

It didn't work.

What the hell was he doing? He should be getting Damian to a therapist or something, not making small – albeit threatening – talk with his estranged little brother.

"Okay" he heard Jason from the other room "We're way behind with this, but I'm gonna check how your shoulder's doing and everything. So for the sake of everyone's fingers and eyes and shit, you're gonna put your hand on my shoulder and if anything hurts, if anything fucking tickles, you press those assassin little fingers. Lightly. And don't give me that fucking face, we both know you'd rather have your arm fall off than tell it hurts."

Dick stretched his neck back to take a look of what was going on with the two and his eyes boggled at the sight. Damian was sitting on the back of the couch, hand placed on Jason's shoulder even as he scowled – and… was that a pout? – at the top of Jason's head, while Jason was busy examining him thoroughly with a concentrated expression.

While fingers traced his ribs, Dick kept expecting Damian to flip his shit and shove his way out of there, but it was Jason's face that contorted painfully.

"Fuck, kid, I said _lightly_!" Jason complained, trying to get away from Damian's hand "Tell me what hurts."

Damian stared at him with a blank expression and Jason let his head fall back dramatically.

"Show me, dumbass."

Dick had no idea how this… relationship worked, but he was pretty sure that was no way to talk to a traumatized kid. Even if the kid was Damian. But then again, Jason didn't know what had happened, so he kept acting like… Jason. And Damian still had that blank look, so maybe he was catatonic or something, which would explain the not talking, but he seemed pretty responsive before, so maybe-

Holy shit, Damian just crinkled his nose and rubbed his eye with the back of his fingers all childlike before looking away and pointing to his own torso.

If Dick was any less of a Flying Grayson, he would've fallen on his ass. Like, _sprawled_ on Jason's kitchen floor, maybe even hitting his head on the way down or something. As it were, he just took a shocked step back and kept watching.

Jason's hands came up halfway and froze "You're gonna bite my finger off if I touch you, aren't you? Do it yourself."

Damian arched what could only be a challenging brow and Jason huffed out a laugh "I'm on to you. Come on, lift the shirt."

There was a long knife wound on Damian's ribs, though it wasn't deep enough to reopen, it was an angry inflamed red. "You see" Jason sounded annoyingly unimpressed "This is exactly why I have to keep poke-checking you for injuries." he sighed and poked the cut, for emphasis Dick guessed "Someone must've gotten pretty close and personal to do this." Damian slapped his hand away and shrugged "Did it happen while you were picking fights with those clowns?" staring hard at his own knees, Damian shook his head "Okay." Jason nodded and leaned back on the couch "Okay."

If Dick stared just right, if looked like Damian was sitting on Jason's shoulders.

"I'm gonna get some cleaning stuff for that, I don't want you getting pus all over my t-shirt."

Dick jumped and got back to pretending he was opening boxes and whatever.

Ok, so Damian wasn't catatonic. In fact, he and Jason were getting along famously and Dick didn't know what to think about that. The night before, Jason asked why Damian hadn't gone to him and Dick said that he didn't know. Because he didn't.

So he thought a lot about it, when he should've been sleeping actually, and realized that he still had no clue whatsoever of how Damian rationalized everything. Because Damian couldn't possibly be scared of him. Could he?

It didn't make sense. Dick would never ever hurt Damian and the kid was bound to know that. Wasn't he?

"If criminals only knew that Batman's greatest weakness was pouring coffee..." Jason's voice startled Dick so much that his hands twitched around the doughnut box sending up a cloud of sugar "Hey, you've been antiqued."

"How can someone with such a loud mouth be so fucking quiet?"

Jason shrugged and stole a doughnut "You're acting weird" he said around a mouthful "Well, _weirder_. It's not helping your case at all, and I might still shoot you."

Dick shook his head bewildered "Why are you even telling me that?"

"You know…" Jason waved the doughnut around searching for the right words "For the record."

When Dick finally joined the two, Damian was still perched on the back of the couch, following Dick's movements with his eyes and Jason was making a show of looking distracted.

It was immensely awkward, which probably was what Jason wanted from the beginning, the asshole.

"So," Dick began, handing Jason a cup of coffee "How is it going?"

"Yes or no questions, Dickhead" Jason said quietly, taking a quick sip "It's not that hard."

What Dick really meant to ask was lost somewhere in between 'are you okay?' and 'do you have any idea how fucking worried I was about you, you little selfish fuck?!', which were, by the way, both yes or no questions – see, Jason? He could do it too –, but what came out was "Are you scared of me?"

Jason snorted into his cup and started to choke "Oh God, there's coffee coming out of my nose…"

Like Dick needed to feel any more stupid.

Damian was so shocked with the question he only spared Jason a quick disgusted glance and eyed Dick again, his brows arched so high they almost touched his hair.

Dick was almost repeating the question when Jason, who was still kinda laughing and clutching his nose, saw the look on Damian's face. "Did he answer you? Dick, why didn't he answer you?"

"I don't know?"

"Why would he be scared of you? You're an idiot."

Dick was nodding enthusiastically when the words clicked "You are _not_ helping."

"You should leave." Jason started to stand, but Damian's hand grabbed his shoulder "_What._" he barked, but Damian's grip just grew stronger "You want him to stay" Jason translated doubtfully.

Damian's nod was tentative, but his expression was resolute.

"You want me to stay because you are _not_ scared" Dick needed the reassurance, but Damian was never one to give it willingly.

The boy looked at Dick, _really_ looked and shook his head.

Jason sighed angrily and his stiff posture deflated "I hope you two ladies _know_ that you'll have to tell me what the fuck is going on eventually. This shit's getting annoying."

"Sorry, Jay-Jay" Dick ran a hand over his face and sat down opposite to Jason "I think this is Damian's story to tell." because, really. How the hell was Dick supposed to even begin to tell Jason what happened? In front of Damian no less.

Maybe if he could get Jason alone. In a contained environment.

"Oh, haha, his story to _tell_. Very funny. Mock the mute kid, you insensitive moron! And you" he pointed a finger at Damian's nose "Stop laughing."

Damian wasn't laughing per say, but he did have a little amused expression, which was pretty much the same, considering who this was. It was pretty darn cute.

"Oh fuck" Jason groaned "We're having a family moment, aren't we? This is disgusting and completely your fault" he pointed at Dick, but kept looking at Damian so the culprit was anyone's guess.

Damian didn't seem concerned in the least and made a quick grab for a doughnut before settling back on his perch and frowning at the way the sugar clung to his fingertips.

The silence had Jason drumming his fingers on his thighs, Dick was just about to recognize the song when it stopped "What now?"

Dick blinked "What?"

"I mean… You wanted to find the kid, and here he is, obviously alive and well and somewhat clueless about what the hell to do with that doughnut" Damian scowled at Jason's profile even as he was about to wipe his sugar coated hand on the back of Jason's black t-shirt "So yeah. What now?"

Dick wondered if this was Jason giving him a way out of the awkwardness or baiting him into saying something stupid. But if the impatient look on Jason's face told him anything, he just wanted to know what would happen next. For real.

Dick could just say he wanted to take Damian back home and that would be that. Jason would be back to being the Red Hood and their sometimes enemy, Dick would get Damian talking again somehow after towing Timmy away from the computer, it'd be fine.

"We could watch a movie or something?"

Jason had a snarky comeback just on the tip of his tongue, Dick was on the verge of an epic grimace already, but Damian decided that it was a good time to take a bite into his doughnut, but when he did, he cringed instantaneously.

"What is it?" Dick leaned in and touched Damian's knees, but the boy just scrunched his nose harder.

"You've never had a doughnut before." Jason stated way too calmly for Dick's taste, but Damian blinked through teary eyes and shook his head "Too sweet, huh?"

Dick watched in amazement as Damian swallowed hard and nodded, Jason nodded back and handed the boy his cup.

"Don't give him coffee" Dick chastised and punched Jason on the shoulder "He barely sleeps as it is."

Jason ignored him completely "Small sips, kid."

"You're such an enabler."

"Let him have his fun, Dickwad."

Dick cuffed Jason upside the head and smiled at Damian, who was peeking at him and Jason over the cup. This is exactly what they needed, this… Dick didn't wanna say 'normalcy' because this was as far from normal for them as it could get, but they could deal later with all the… earth shattering everything, because whatever this was, it was what they needed.

And if Dick was completely honest, he was a just a tinsy bit jealous of how Damian acted with Jason. He wanted to be a part of that, so he scooted closer to Damian's skinny legs and made himself comfortable.

Yeah, they could forget everything for today.

_We could steal time, just for one day…_

"You see that, little dude?" Jason stage whispered "It starts by dressing up as disco reject, then the humming of David Bowie begins, soon we'll have to lock him up in Arkham."

"Can't I just be happy, Jay-Jay?"

"No, you're creepy when you're happy."

That only made Dick smile bigger.

They huddled on the couch, Dick and Jason on either side of Damian's legs and watched TV.

Jason complained about everything Dick wanted to watch ("Fuck no." "Why not, it's a great movie." "It's a cancer movie, it smells like a cancer movie." "What the hell is a 'cancer movie'?" "You know, someone gets cancer, suffers like a fucking dog and dies in the end, when by the way, you'll be bawling like an infant, so no.") and since they could never decide which one was right, they would leave the decision to Damian, who kept changing sides just to watch the older two fight. The boy never said a word, barely even made a sound, but his eyes shone mischievously the whole day, Dick thought he really looked like a ten year old for the first time ever.

They stuffed their faces with doughnuts, gorged in pizza and washed it all down with soda.

It was a mundane and slow day.

It was pretty badass.

But when the night came Dick knew it was about to end and he didn't think he'd be that sad about it. He turned to find Damian looking down at him, the boy shot a glance to the night sky through the window and back at Dick. It was surprisingly easy to understand him.

"Yeah, I think I gotta go." he said, voice so low it was almost to himself, but Damian was still paying close attention to him. "You wanna come with me?"

Jason's head made an appearance from the other side of Damian's legs, expression drowsy – which in turn made him look insanely young – and dripping with disbelief, but Dick knew now that even if he thought Jason was unstable and psychotic, there was no denying he was taking pretty good care of their littlest brother.

And if someone had been through enough shit, it was this boy, who deserved – and probably needed – some control over what happened to him.

Dick couldn't – wouldn't – fuck this up.

"Because you can stay here if you want to, but I'd be happy if you came with me."

"I'm so glad you asked _me_ what I thought about the brat staying here longer" Jason quipped and Dick kicked his shin.

"It's your choice." Dick told a contemplative Damian "What do you say, Little D?"

Damian turned rigid, barely even breathing and Dick turned to Jason guidance, but only found the same confused mirrored on his brother's face.

"Little dude?"

Damian shook his head then; he stood on the couch, looked at Dick with wide eyes still shaking his head and stormed off to the bathroom.

"Huh. So shit like that happens to you too." Jason commented frowning at the bathroom closed door.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Hell if I know."

"I was just trying to be nice."

"You always are. Must be exhausting."

"You have _no idea._"

Dick left and Jason still had a traumatized mute assassin hiding in his bathroom.

"Damian's story to tell…" he repeated Dick's words from before and wanted to gag a little. Why he even listened to the crap that sprouted from Grayson's mouth was beyond him.

He should've just cornered Dick in the kitchen and demanded to know what was going on, who knows, he might've even gotten an almost straight answer from the asshole.

Walking over to the bathroom, Jason thought briefly about knocking before discarding the idea and picking up the Robin uniform that was still lying on the floor. He found the tear in the Kevlar where Damian was cut up and wondered how someone got close enough to do that kind of damage.

The blood spatter on the leggings caught his eye, but it didn't really add up. The kid had been brawling with Gotham's scum, there _should_ be blood, but why was it on the back?

The clothes fell from his hands back to the floor, because it didn't matter what he'd been thinking earlier, he wasn't all that sure he liked where this was going.

He let himself fall seated on the couch and let his head fall back with a sigh; the sound of the bathroom door opening made him close his eyes and concentrate on the steps. Jason felt the cushions dip when Damian climbed up and warmth enveloped his head as the kid sprawled over the back of the couch on his stomach. In his mind's eye, Jason imagined himself wearing Damian as a scarf, and the image only became more vivid when a bony knee landed on his shoulder.

"Is that your way to tell me you're tired?" he asked with a smirk, without opening his eyes.

Damian's breath was shaky across the shell of his ear, but when Jason made it to turn and look, the little shit's forearm pushed his head back as it was. So they stayed like that, Jason with crossed arms and legs kicked out comfortably and Damian draped behind his neck.

Jason was beginning to nod off when there was a shift in Damian's breathing, but what really startled him was the barely accented whisper "Grayson called me. On that night. He said…" the kid hesitated, but Jason kept still and waited "He said Drake was hit with Sex Pollen."

Dick saw what Jason meant by telling him he was creepy when he was happy. The cowl only made the effect triple. He didn't give a fuck.

Let the criminals deal with nightmares over having their asses handed to them by a smiling creepy Batman, who the hell cares?

He was almost finishing up with patrol when Alfred's voice piped up "_Uhm, master Richard? We've had a situation here that requires your attention._"

Oh no, not today… "What is it? Is someone hurt?"

"_Minor injuries only, yet I insist on your presence here as soon as possible._"

Dick expected mayhem. Uncontrollable, unstoppable chaos. He found a puzzled Alfred and security footage.

"What is it, Alfie?" he asked, voice laced with hysteric humor "You're starting to freak me out."

"We've had an unexpected visitor tonight."

"Who?"

Alfred simply sighed and pressed play.

Dick frowned at the screen when he saw Jason chatting with Alfred, even _smiling_ – Dick took it all back, Jason was the creepy one with that honest smile – and giving the older man a one-armed hug.

"What did Jason want here?"

"He requested a moment to talk with Master Timothy."

Dick's gut twisted uncomfortably. On the video Jason lounged on the hall, completely unconcerned until Tim showed up dragging his feet, when he was within arm range, Jason threw the most vicious sucker punch Dick had ever seen. Tim's head came this close to doing a 360 degree turn and he crumpled boneless.

Jason flexed his fingers once and Dick didn't need the audio to figure out his last words before leaving.

"_You're lucky I didn't kill you._"

* * *

**A/N.:** Fucking FINALLY! This chapter was so hard! I even think it turned out a little too long, but after all the work I couldn't bring myself to split it or something.

But I kinda like it... Hope you guys do too!

Oh and I've said it on my other fic, but just so everyone knows, I'm taking **tumblr** prompts (you don't have to follow me, seriously. I suck at tumblr-ing, just like my crap and I'll be happy), so if you guys are interested, let me know!

And I'm gonna go 'cause it's like 3 am here, what am I even doing here?


	6. Overkill

Jason left a trail of destruction, and this wasn't even mentioning the wreck he made of Tim's face, but it was way too long for Dick to follow. He wanted to yell at Jason _now._

"You demented son of a bitch, did you spend the whole fucking day just waiting for me to leave to do that?! And stop destroying the fucking city, you moron! Ugh! I'm so dropkicking you on the throat the first chance I get."

"_Grayson?_"

Dick froze. "Damian? Oh my God, Little D, you're talking! How are you? Are you okay?" nothing "Okay, so not talking that much, then. Can you put Jay-Jay on the phone?"

A long pause. "_Todd's not here._"

Dick inhaled deeply and held it, looking up to the heavens to for some guidance and only finding a white ceiling "How long have you been alone?" there was just the sound of breathing on the other side. Shallow, erratic breathing "It doesn't matter, I'm coming over, okay?" faced with silence yet again, Dick added "Can you promise me you'll stay 'till I get there?" the breathing stopped "Please, Damian, don't you run out on me." he pleaded already heading for the door and having his hand yanked back by the forgotten phone cord "_Please._"

He pulled the receiver back to his ear just in time to hear "_Don't make me wait._" And the line went dead.

"I would never, you overbearing brat" he muttered with way more fondness than the words deserved, darting through the door with a smile splitting his face.

He didn't expect or want to see Jason on the way there, or even back at the safe house, really. Thankfully the Red Hood was being spotted everywhere around town, beating up whatever moved in his way.

So when he spotted Jason – how could he have gotten there so fast? He always had shitty timing – coming from the opposite way, but certainly going in the same direction to the safe house, no one could blame him when Dick started running towards him.

Jason lifted wild eyes at him, and had the nerve to look surprised before bolting to the door.

Dick missed him by a fraction of a second.

They ran up the stairs and through the hallway, Jason always managing to stay just out of Dick's reach.

Jason slipped into the safe house and as it was the norm with them, slammed the door as hard as he could, Dick only kept it from closing by shoving a hand in front of the doorframe.

A groan of pain ripped itself from his throat, but he didn't have time to recuperate as Jason threw himself against the wood, crushing Dick's hand further.

"You're breaking my hand!" Dick gritted out as Jason pushed the door harder.

"Yeah. I am."

"For fuck sake, Jason!"

"It will be interesting to see a one-handed Batman… Hey, maybe Two Face will even sign your cast!" Jason's laughter was cut short by a painful grunt and the door was being thrown open by Damian.

"What did you do to him?" Dick asked the boy when he saw Jason leaning his hands on his knees, obviously in pain.

"How can you help him, you little shit?" Jason was still slightly breathless, but there was no mistaking his angry stare.

"Leave him alone, Jason" Dick's hand was aching too badly and he had just about enough of Jason's erratic behavior "Oh, wait! You already have! You just went for a little stroll to raise some hell and fuck the city up."

Dick wanted to pull Damian closer, but Damian was taking an uncertain step towards Jason, obviously unsure about what to do next, only to see Jason sidestep him and move to confront Dick.

The way the boy blinked in surprise and turned his gaze away broke Dick's heart a little.

"We were all so worried that you wouldn't be able to fit into Bruce's shoes," Jason scoffed, completely unaware of what just passed "yeah well, joke's on us. You're exactly like him."

"What are you talking about?"

"People _Batman's_ supposed to be protecting are getting hurt, and he's not only just sitting on his thumbs and doing nothing whatsoever to help, he's covering up for the fuckers that did it!"

"Well boohoo, Jason. I get it! You have a _trauma_, and I'm really sorry for it, but this isn't about you right now!"

Jason's eyes flared with barely controlled fury and he smiled sardonically "Finally got something right, didn't you? I'm dead, Dick. I've been dead for quite some time now."

"Jay-"

"And this isn't about me." Jason kept talking, unbelievably calm "It's about young Timothy being so desperate to pop his cherry he had to go and fuck the weakest link he could find, but hey!" he turned to Damian and continued with a condescending smile "That's what family is for."

"How could you say that? There was Sex Pollen, Jason! Tim wasn't in control of his own body, it isn't his fault!"

"Then whose is it, Dick?"

"Oh, so according to you we should do what? Kill Tim?"

Jason made a show of pretending to consider "You know, that doesn't sound half bad."

"You're not being fair." Dick said darkly, patience running thin.

"Yeah, you're right," Jason said distantly as if in deep thought "I'm not… Hey, do you know why the kid ran off when you asked if he wanted to come home?" he stepped closer to Dick with each word "You called him 'Little D'. And your _darling_ Timmy called him by your pet name while ramming into him." he enunciated each word with slow precision, making sure each one felt like a well-placed blow "Again, and again, and again."

They were face to face now and Jason wasn't shy about making use of his extra inches on Dick.

"Stop it, Jason" Dick told him through gritted teeth "He's _right there_."

Jason turned his upper body to look at Damian who was staring at Jason with a hard expression, jaw clenched and a minute frown, his breathing was completely controlled; it wouldn't be unusual at all if it weren't _too_ controlled. Deep inhale, slow exhale. Deep inhale, slow exhale.

"I'm even willing to bet he was afraid to go back because he thought it would happen again. As punishment for taking it like a little bitch the first time."

"That's it." Dick shoved Jason out of the way with little care and stepped closer to Damian, noting the way the boy's shoulders trembled with the force of his restraint.

"What?" Jason was right there pushing him back "Can't bear to hear the truth?"

"I think you've done enough." Dick nearly growled balling his hands into fists and Jason gave him a lazy, cruel smile.

"Yeah, I have. You've given me nothing but trouble from the start and I'm done."

Dick shielded Damian with his body, even if he knew that Jason's words would still reach him "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he breathed "I thought I could trust you."

Jason rolled his eyes "Oh, come _on_, Dickie. You never trusted me. You just didn't wanna deal with the burden." he indicated Damian with a jut of chin.

Dick only realized he punched Jason upon seeing him with his back against the wall, a hand covering part of his jaw and mouth.

"You _sick fuck_." Dick spat "I should leave you in a bloody heap on the floor."

"Go on, Dick. Follow Bruce's lead and blame me, _the failure_, it's just easier isn't it? You can blame the whole fucking world, but we all know the truth, don't we?" he wiped some blood from his lips with the back of his hand "Go back to your adored little rapist."

With one last dirty look to his fallen brother "You're a fucking idiot.", Dick pulled Damian to his arms and picked him up – briefly wondering if he had ever been carried without being gravely injured –, and when the boy went with no fuss he knew something was very wrong.

"This is my fault." Damian's whisper was barely there but it didn't keep Dick from picking up the complete certainty that came with the words and his skin curled, almost missing a step.

"No, it's not." he said a bit more harshly than he intended, but he needed to make sure Damian understood that "None of this is your fault, you hear me? None of it."

Damian looked up at him in surprise and Dick realized he wasn't supposed to hear that.

He pulled Damian closer and closed his eyes tightly for a second "Can you do something for me? Forget the last few minutes, okay? That right there, it wasn't real. Jason doesn't know what he's saying, he's an idiot, he…" he sighed remembering a distant talk "He overreacts."

Jason let his hand drop from his face when the door closed behind Dick and Damian, sliding down the wall and falling seated, his chest hurting way more than his face and damn if he didn't wanna put his fist through something. He wouldn't dare close his eyes, knowing that the last look he got from Damian was permanently burnt to his eyelids. Jason never meant to hurt the kid, he wanted to hurt _Dick_, he wanted to hurt Bruce –_ that_ ship has sailed – and he definitely wanted to hurt Tim.

The kid was just caught in the crossfire and Jason was known to shoot at will once he began. It didn't make things right, though.

And shit like that is exactly why Jason limits his human contact to thieves, pimps and drug dealers, no one got sad when he ran with mouth with them.

But this was probably for the best, now the kid was with the Golden Boy – the one who always made things right, the perfect little fucker, Bruce's favorite – and Jason couldn't fuck him up anymore then he already was. Damian didn't need him, never did really; the kid would get over this in the same brash, harsh way he did everything and would be chasing Jason down for calling him "sweetie" in no time. No time at all.

Is it possible to die from douchebaggery? 'Cause it didn't seem like such a bad thing at all right now.

Dick longed for the day when Damian would be easier to deal with, maybe even more childlike in some situations; he wanted to laugh with him and watch silly cartoons, then go out to patrol and help him kick the Riddler's ass.

But he never wanted the boy so pliant in his arms. At first he thought Damian was asleep, but a quick glance down revealed a pair of slightly glazed royal blue eyes and a slack expression – not so much relaxed as detached – peering up at him from his shoulder,.

After several attempts at eliciting something from him, it was pretty clear that whatever prompted Damian to talk before, it was gone now. It didn't keep Dick from whispering any reassurances he could think of.

"You're gonna see Alfred now" he was murmuring as his hand reached the doorknob to the penthouse "And he'll be so happy to see you, he's totally gonna bake those cookies I love so much, and then we'll sit in front of the TV and-"

"Dick, how could you to Jason alone?" Tim was already asking before Dick had even walked in "He's so obviously out of control he could've killed you!"

Dick had to roll his eyes at that, and that's probably how he missed when the exact second where the compliant, silent child in his arms turned and jabbed his stretched fingers in Tim throat.

Tim stepped back, hand's around his own neck as he tried to breath in normally, but Damian was not through with him and tried to wrestle his way out of Dick's arm, growling in his attempts to reach Tim.

Dick battled between holding Damian back and trying not to hurt him. But after taking the second elbow to the face, he concentrated on dragging him to the boy's bedroom.

A mostly recovered Tim began to follow them, but stopped short at Dick's bark to "Stay there!" Alfred showed up just then, still clad in pajamas, and at the sight of the struggle pulled Tim back further.

And Damian's attempts to get away continued, but they lacked the force, as if Dick keeping Tim away was enough to appease him. Almost.

Dick paced around Damian's bed, not letting him go even as he still kept getting punched on the shoulder.

"You're home now." he chanted, holding Damian's head so their cheeks were pressed together "You're safe. Timmy wasn't in his right mind when he did that, and he'll never touch you again. No one will, I won't let them. You're home now. You're safe…"

It took some time, but finally Damian went limp, his forehead leaning on Dick's shoulder as his muscles shook from the former effort.

Dick laid him down on the bed, and Damian sat up instantly, crossing his legs Indian-style, and though his eyes seemed livelier, his expression was misleadingly blank.

"Try to get some sleep, okay?" Dick told him in a hushed voice threading his fingers through Damian's soft hair, not expecting or getting an answer.

He found Tim sulking in front of the computer again and for the sake of his own nerves, decided to leave him there for now. Alfred brewed tea and ordered Dick to retire to his own bedroom.

The thing is, his body was too wired to sleep but his mind was too exhausted to stay awake.

He did sit ups, one hand handstands on the headboard, practiced spinning books on the tips of all five fingers, but nothing helped. Wondering if Damian would be too freaked if he spent the night there, Dick stood up, throwing the book on his hands on top of the bed.

"Grayson."

Dick turns around to see Damian standing by the door, and again there is no sign of any mischief or mirth on his face as it had been on Jason's safe house. Dick can't help but think he looks disheartened.

"Hey, little D" the boy flinched almost unperceptively and Dick wanted to kick himself "Damian… Hey, Damian. What's up? You need anything?"

Damian's gaze dropped to Dick's feet "I've come to realize that my behavior has been less than commendable, and you must know that it's been rectified and will be no longer be an issue to you or anyone else." when he finished speaking, he shot a quick glance up through his lashes and down again "When will I be sent back to mother?"

It took Dick a moment to fully comprehend those words "What?"

"There is no need for pretense, Grayson. I failed completely to defend myself, not only it is very unbecoming, it was proof that I am as far from worthy to bear my father's legacy as I could possibly be." he shook his head self-deprecatingly "I understand the consequences of this, I am merely asking to know when will I be relocated."

Dick felt dizzy as if there wasn't enough air in the room "You were blindsided by someone who was drugged out of his skull with something you had no usable knowledge of, you didn't _fail_ at anything. You get that, right? This isn't a test."

"Yes, I _am_ aware of that now" now. He's aware of that _now_. Which means that all this time he's been thinking that- "It does not mean that I am any less inept to continue my work as Robin."

"Why do I get the feeling that this is about what happened with Jason? He _overreacts_ monstrously, you can't take him seriously during a crisis. He just needs to-"

Damian interrupted with a wave of hand, "Todd has made it perfectly clear that neither my predicament nor my location are of his interest anymore." his voice sounded so strong it was impossible to tell he'd been completely mute not one day ago, if it wasn't for the way his eyes were still trained on Dick's shoes… "I've overstayed my welcome, and though his wording might be crude, it did bare some merit. I am to blame at this, Grayson. Being Robin, this… so called family, I've let it all make me vulnerable. It was a stupid mistake on my part and I've already paid for my weakness. As I've told you, it will not happen again."

"And I will _not_ send you back to your mother" Dick stated, his blood ice cold and boiling at the same time "There is not one single thing that's been your fault on this fucked up situation."

Damian stared at him in confusion for a moment, then frowned at the carpet "You can stop now, I-"

"No." Dick walked forward and dropped to his knees in front of the tiny, confused, misguided, _broken_ boy, tilting his head so they could lock eyes "Shut your mouth for a second and listen to me. There's no test, no punishment, you're not leaving this place." Damian shifted uncomfortably, eyes too bright, but there weren't any tears "How is Batman supposed to defend himself without Robin?"

Damian closed his eyes, clenching his jaw "Don't patronize me, Grayson, that is-"

"When are you going to understand that you're mine now? I've always wanted a kid, and though your mom had her plans for you, she had no idea you'd fit right into mine. And I won't give you back. Ever."

"You're lying. I know you are" Damian whispered through gritted teeth, his eyes wouldn't stop moving now, not knowing where to focus, but never looking up as he spoke "You've never wanted a child. Not me. Not when I'm so… weak and… _tainted._"

Dick couldn't listen anymore. He threw his arms around Damian and pulled the little body close, pressing the boy to his chest and feeling when his breath hitched. He buried his nose on Damian's soap smelling hair and wished that just this once the kid could take some comfort from the contact.

"Dick? You there?" Tim's voice drifted from somewhere in the penthouse and both Dick and Damian turned their heads in its direction.

Damian took a step back.

"No, no, no. Listen to me!" Dick tried, keeping his hands on his brother's shoulders "Please, just listen" Damian paused, wired tight "Do you trust me?"

Damian's lips parted and he sucked in a shallow breath, Dick tightened his hold on his shoulders, and begged silently for him to answer, but Damian's attention was drawn to Dick's hand to which he muttered "Why would I?" then he was gone.

Dick told Tim that Damian was under control, and that he should for now. Tim thought he should stay away from Damian forever, and yet, there he was, by the brat's bedroom door.

It was slightly ajar and he could see Damian sitting on the bed, playing with the zipper of a red hoodie laid across his legs, looking almost sad.

"Can I talk to you?" Tim asked pushing the door open, and stepping back, giving himself enough space to maneuver in case of an attack.

Damian tensed, but didn't seem scared by any stretch of the word, he merely kept toying with the zipper.

"I just wanted to tell you that… I'm working on an antidote for whatever we could come by during patrol, but specifically to Sex Pollen. Actually it's more like a vaccine, it will make up immune to… well, everything. Dick thinks it's impossible, but I gotta try, I guess." he breathed in slowly "I don't remember, you know? I have no recollection whatsoever of what happened on that rooftop, but I'm sorry. And I don't want you to be scared of me, because if you think about it, _I_ didn't do anything. The Sex Pollen turned me into… someone else." Damian was staring at him now, but Tim had no idea as to what he was thinking "So I get that you wanna hit me, and you _should_ want to hit me, just know that… I didn't do it."

Damian placed the hoodie on the bedspread and jumped down the bed, his eyes narrowing and turning thoughtful as he moved closer to Tim. He stopped beyond arm reach "If your _doppelganger_ ever comes near me again" Damian enunciated sarcastically slow, as if Tim wouldn't be able to understand otherwise "I will kill you. Both of you."

This wasn't a temper tantrum or a show of power. Looking at his eyes, Tim had no doubt at all that there'd be no stopping him. Damian _would_ kill him.

Then Damian tore his gaze away jerkily and swallowed hard, closing the door with a soft click, and for the first time Tim understood the damage he had done, even if he didn't remember it.

"I hope you do."

* * *

**A/N.:** Goddamn it, Tim! Do you even listen to yourself? It's all in the wording, jeez!

Are you taking lessons from Jason? You two suck. (I still love you, Jase! I've never loved you, Tim. Sorry.)

Have I told you guys how amazing you all are? Because you're amazing! I've gotten huge reviews on the last chapter, I loooove getting huge reviews, seriously! I get so inspired when I see that people are actually enjoying my work, I honestly started writing this like... two days after I posted the last one.

So thank you! A lot!

And sorry there was little to no cuteness in this, there was supposed to have one fluff thingy, but it was getting too long and really, I wanted to see if I could actually manage to write something sad, so yeah... Sorry, but not _really_.


	7. One gay looking taser

On his first day back, Damian didn't leave his room once. Dick decided to let him have his privacy, but kept walking by the door. Just in case.

Before heading to bed, he decided to do a quick check in – he was worried, sue him – and found Damian pretending to be asleep. Dick watched him for a couple of moments, but wasn't sure what to do, so he simply closed the door.

The next day, Dick came to get Damian to have breakfast and just one look at the kid's face showed that he had hadn't slept more than an hour, if that. Damian didn't look any better when Dick told him lunch was ready. Nor when Dick told him to shower. Or when he called him for dinner.

Dick didn't even go patrolling, preferring to stay back and make sure that Damian brushed his teeth and actually got some sleep. Which the boy didn't, though he took the time to act – and was pretty good at it, but Dick could tell.

They kept playing like that for three more days – Dick wouldn't talk about it, and Damian only talked if prompted, anyway. In fact Damian only did _anything_ if prompted – during which Dick retired Batman completely and manhandled Tim into covering patrol for him. Tim wasn't happy about leaving his computer, but had to do it after Dick spent the whole day asking if Tim was so opposed to leaving his precious because he was scared of sneaky little hobbitses stealing it.

The next completed mission was to coerce Damian out of his room and sit him down on the living room. They played Chutes and Ladders – which was way more boring than Dick remembered it being and made Damian look seriously weirded out – but quickly switched to Mortal Kombat, and all the blood and gore put a glint on Damian's eyes that hadn't been there before.

He was still mostly subdued, but that was more than understandable, so Dick worked twice as hard to be peppy and annoying, just to get a rise out of the kid.

It got him the weirdest looks, but not the explosion he'd been expecting.

The day soon became night and Dick noticed how Damian never even once looked at the sky in search of the Bat-Signal. They were playing Street Fighter – Need for Speed had been a bust and Super Mario had actually gotten Damian to utter a bored "Seriously?" – and Damian was about to retire to his room when Dick called him back "Watch Karate Kid with me. I love this movie, you're gonna hate it."

It wasn't the same light mood that had engulfed them on Jason's safe house, and they both knew it. Damian kept glancing sideways at Dick, silently questioning him, but Dick didn't know what the question was and wasn't sure how to figure that out without sounding like a huge ass, so he decided to let it go for now.

The movie was over and just as all the other nights, Damian pretended to sleep and Dick pretended he wasn't aware as he watched him for a couple of minutes.

He was about to close the door and not sleep in his own bed but hesitated a second, just a second, but it was enough for Damian to turn his upper body to look at him.

There was no mistaking the surprise on Damian's face, like he couldn't believe Dick hadn't left yet and it made Dick wonder if that had happened every night before and he completely missed it.

He tried to wait for Damian to say something, but there was only so much time Dick could stand not moving, so he walked around the bed and laid down, feeling Damian's eyes on him even before they stared at each other.

Damian frowned in thought, his bottom lip pushing out slightly without him realizing it, before he carefully stretched his hand towards Dick's face, covering his eyes.

"Why do you care?" Damian asked in a small hoarse whisper.

"What do you mean?" Dick traced the tiny hand with the tips of his fingers, but made no move to push it away "You're my little brother, why wouldn't I care?"

Dick feels against his cheek when Damian huffs "I don't understand. You make no sense at all."

"When have I ever made sense?"

"Todd left after I told him. He was so disgusted he wouldn't even come back to his own safe house. But you... I waited for you to send me back to mother, that obviously hasn't happened. So I figured some sort of punishment would come, instead you made me watch TV with you. And I don't know what that means."

"I thought spending time with me felt like punishment to you."

"I know you're trying to be funny, but you're not. You told Todd that Drake wasn't to blame, that he didn't have control over his actions. You also said it wasn't my fault. Yet you keep taking it out on Drake while with me you act like you care."

"I'm not _acting_, I really care about you. The both of you. And I'm not taking it out on Tim."

"Yes, you are." Dick wasn't sure if Damian really sounded kind of whiny or if it was just his own mind acting up from a lingering effect from the sight of the boy's thoughtful pout from before "He doesn't want to leave his computer, and you're making a point of dragging him away from it every chance you get. You're even sending him on patrols instead of going out yourself."

"Hey, he needed some fresh air. He was growing moldy and it was freaking me out. Do you really think I'm being too hard on him?"

"Oh, not at all. Drake deserves whatever crap you give him." it makes Dick smile until he sees where Damian's getting at.

"So I'm being too nice to you?"

"You continue to come for me." he sounds frustrated "Do you even know what happened that night?"

"Yeah." Dick cleared his throat "I do."

"How can you not…?" Damian's breathing grew a little heavier "He had his… He was _inside_ me. He kept… You _should_ be disgusted."

"Don't." Dick said quickly, pulling Damian's hand from his face and holding it to his chest, keeping his eyes closed "Don't say that… I'm not. You can tell me anything," he leaned in then, touching their foreheads together "you can _do _anything and I'll still come back to you, do you get that? I'll always come. Even if you don't want me to."

"You make no sense." Damian mumbled, though this time he sounded almost accepting.

"Not one bit." Dick agreed with a smile, running his fingers through Damian's hair. He opens one eye "Can I spend the night here?"

"Why would you want _that_?"

"You know how sometimes, you're so excited for something that's gonna happen the next day that you just can't sleep because you're thinking about it, but being awake makes the wait that much longer?"

"No."

Dick feels another smile threatening to split his face in half, even though he knows that was not actually funny. Damian was frowning, but that was kind of his default expression, and he was still looking at Dick which was a total win.

Dick counted to five in his head "So… Can I stay?"

Damian scrunched up his nose, as if Dick were completely crazy, then his expression softened, even if there was still some bemusement around his eyes "Yes."

He said it looking at Dick, staring right at his eyes. Dick kinda wanted to smother him with a hug, but forced himself to stay still. Baby steps.

So Dick turned to lie down on his back, still clutching Damian's hand to his chest and began to chatter away. He told Damian about his childhood, his life on the circus, his parents, his elephant, his everything.

He also made a point of not saying anything when Damian inched closer, or else it would've been _really_ awkward when Dick did the same, scooting to the middle of the mattress.

It was another sleepless night for Damian, but Dick couldn't bring himself to care when they were so… not miserable.

Damian had been awake for nearly a week and it was starting to affect him. Sure he had slept a couple of minutes from time to time, but his reaction time was slower and he kept seeing things out of the corners of his eyes, but this time he was sure.

He had spotted the brown paper bag hanging outside his window while Dick still slept after having spent a good portion of the night telling Damian his most ludicrous childhood stories. It was oddly comforting not to think about anything else other than the words being spoken to him.

At first he thought it was some kind of prank provided by Grayson, who had been joking quite a lot lately. Damian didn't mind it, only wished he could understand why Grayson had such firm belief that laughing would do them any good.

It took a couple of hours for him to be sure that Grayson had no knowledge of the bag so after he got up and left, Damian counted to fifty before cutting his eyes to the door, making sure that no one was around, and climbed over the dresser to get to the window. The bag was heavier than he had anticipated, so he opened it carefully.

The first thing he pulled out of it was an envelope, turning it around he found writing in a rushed scrawl. "_A Happy Meal, only better_"

Dick comes around later to call Damian for snacks and video games, only to stop in complete shock.

Damian was asleep, really, truly asleep for the first time in around 6 days. There's a fallen brown paper bag by his knees, a half drunken milkshake with a straw on his nightstand, an empty wrap balled by his pillow and several other items spread around the mattress that Dick doesn't really take in because his eyes are glued to the taser hanging loosely from Damian's hand.

For a crazy second he wonders if Damian tased himself and is not really sleeping, but knocked out, only to realize how _stupid_ that sounds even in his head.

He comes closer as silently as humanly possible, because he's still not sure he's not hallucinating and picks up the slip of paper beside the taser.

"_The toy is always the best part._

_There's more than one because you've had a shitty childhood._

_Ps.: The taser looks gay, I know. _

_But it made the replacement shriek like a bitch._

_Ps².: It left some pretty awesome marks on his neck. You should check it out._

_Ps³.: Yeah, I did it for shits and giggles._"

Dick turns on his heel, note still in hand and leaves the bedroom, only to stop when he was hovering over Tim who was sporting a black eye, a swollen lip and a massive bruise on his jaw.

"Can I help you with something, Dick?" he asked moodily.

"Oh, it's nothing… I was just wondering how was patrol."

"Fine."

"Yeah, your face looks fine too."

Tim faces him then "Jason's an asshole. It's not enough that he's going out of his way to pester me, he called to tell you?"

"Did he really tasered you?" Dick asked with his most serious expression, but his voice kind of shakes with restrained laughter.

Dick thinks it was because life was being a bitch that all this things sounded so inappropriately funny and as Tim glared at him, he had to purse his lips and take a deep breath to keep from cracking up. Like Tim can't see right through his bullshit.

"On the neck" Tim admitted begrudgingly "Oh you think that's funny?" he tried to sound pissed, but couldn't quite contain his smile as Dick laughed into his fist.

Dick sobers up "Let me see the burn mark and I'll let it go."

Tim eyes him suspiciously but complies, tilting his head to expose his neck. Dick nodded solemnly without even a twitch making Tim roll his eyes "Laugh already, you're gonna pull something."

"Why would I laugh? You got attacked!" he gestured to Tim's neck "By a vampire with blunt teeth from the look of it."

They burst into laughter. Dick laughs so hard it hurts, so hard he kinda wants to cry. It's hysterical and a little desperate and Tim is wheezing out something that sounded a lot like "I don't even know why we're laughing!"

"Because we're fucked up!"

"Jason's been gunning for me on every single patrol!"

"He tasered you as a gift to Damian!"

"And they both want me dead!"

"They don't want to _kill_ you, they only want you to _hurt_!"

"For something that I don't even remember doing!"

"Oh God, I'm gonna pee my pants…"

They began to gather their wits.

"You thing he's gonna stop now?" Tim asks, rubbing his eyes.

"I can put it a good word for you, _if_…"

Tim groaned, letting his head fall back "I hate 'ifs'. You're gonna screw me over, and I'll still say yes because I can't stand Jason anymore and you know it."

"I just want you to abort the whole antidote/vaccine thing." Dick points to the computer with a jut of his chin.

"But it's-" Tim looks angsty in a way Dick missed seing. Which is bizarre all in itself.

"No, dude. It was a nice thought, a way for you to work through your crap, I get it. Now you have to come back to the real world."

"I can make this work, Dick." there's so much hope in Tim's voice…

"If anyone could, that'd be you, man."

Tim sighed, leaning his elbows on his knees "Sometimes I wish I could remember, you know? 'Cause it all seems so distant I actually forget to feel guilty, and I _cannot_ ever let that guilt go, it wouldn't be fair to Damian. Then I realize how awful it would be to know, how I would never be able stare anyone in the eye ever again, knowing how it felt to…" he shakes his head, as if clearing his thoughts "And I'm _glad_ I don't remember. Isn't that horrible?"

"Well…" Dick ran a hand over his face to push away the weariness seeping into his bones, his body deciding it was a good time to recall he needed some sleep "Becoming one with the computer won't help."

"Are you _sure_?" Tim asked with false expectancy, making disgruntled face "I don't know what to do."

Dick snorted "Yeah, well, you're the only one around here with _that _problem_._"

* * *

**A/N.:** This was supposed to be here earlier, but still a good way to start the week, I think.

Again I would like to thank everyone for the awesome review (feel free to keep them coming, btw) and I apologize if I haven't replied to anyone, it's been kinda hectic, but know that everyone single word you send me is deeply apreciated!

My tumblr has become a haven for Jason and Damian lovers, so feel free to stop by and hit me with a prompt if you're interested, 'kay?


	8. Up high, down low

Damian had always taken to high places, he was constantly perched somewhere like a tiny frowny gargoyle. It used to drive Dick nuts when the boy first arrived, now it made him look up whenever he walked into a room, _any_ room, but it had been a while since Damian went on his climbing adventures.

So that's why when Dick walks distractedly into the bunker – having resumed his Batman activities – looking over a file, he feels completely in the right of yelling "Holy _shit_!" at the sight of Damian sitting Indian style on top of the cabinet to the side of the computer.

He figures Damian found his reaction amusing, because from that moment on, that was pretty much the only way he saw Damian during day hours, high up somewhere, so far from the ground that it was hard to reach him, but not far enough that he couldn't watch what Dick was doing.

Alfred didn't even bat an eyelash, the butler was perfectly ok with the fact that a 10 year-old assassin was lying on top of his cupboards watching him cook.

So Dick now when looked up and would find Damian again – even if the boy wasn't staring back at him – every time, everywhere.

Until he wasn't.

Damian wasn't in his room, wasn't in Dick's room, wasn't anywhere really and it was maddening. When he searched the kitchen for the fifth time, Alfred stopped him with a calming hand on his shoulder "Marter Damian wouldn't leave. This is a penthouse and he likes high places, remember?"

Dick was about to start yanking on his hair, because Alfred could _not_ be that cool over this when it hit him, and he called a quick thanks over his shoulder as he ran to the elevator.

He found Damian on the roof, staring at the Bat-Signal on the sky.

"What's up, Dames?" he asked and got a scowl out of Damian.

"Must you give me names? I already have one."

"Yeah, but it's so _long_." Dick complained as he sat beside his brother.

Damian hugged his knees and stared up again "Are they meant as terms of endearment? The names you call me."

"Well, yeah. What did you think I meant?"

"I was not sure. Mother mostly ever called me 'beloved' when she was in the midst of appreciating how I could surpass father. You seem content to merely call me things."

"And it bugs you?"

Damian shrugged "I don't care either way. You may do as you please."

"Yeah, you care" Dick countered "You always have an opinion about everything."

"I do not." he said softly and a bit distant. Dick leaned back on his hands and watched Damian's profile "You are staring."

"Yup."

Damian rolled his eyes, and hugged his knees closer to his chest "Must you do it?"

"Yup."

"-tt-" Dick saw as Damian's throat worked and expression grew harder, but the boy refused to look back, with the exceptions of a few quick annoyed glances "It is leverage against you." he said hotly "That you would display your…" another peek followed by a slowly enunciated "_affections_ so freely gives your enemies enough knowledge to do you harm."

Dick sighs and scoots closer, their arms almost touching "I won't call you any other nicknames if it bothers you that much."

"I am _not_ a 'little bird' or little at all." Damian grumbles darkly and Dick smiles.

"Yeah, you are!" Dick grins and bumps his elbow on Damian's shoulder "You're _tiny_. And cute. And one day, you'll grow up. Like me."

"Below average height and intensely annoying?"

"Why yes, exactly." Dick is grinning at Damian's antics. He can't even remember the last time he called the boy 'little bird' and he knew not to call him Little D, so why would he be complaining-

Oh.

Jason's voice echoed hauntingly in his mind "_And your _darling_ Timmy called him by your pet name while-_"

Dick snapped his eyes closed. "Damian, I-"

"Should you even be here?" Damian spoke over him, like he knew exactly what Dick would say next and already hated it "The city calls."

Dick watched Damian as he gazed up to the sky once more and the words spilled from his mouth before he could think about it "Wanna come with me?"

Damian's head snapped towards him though his expression barely showed any surprise, and even that was only apparent thanks to an arched brow "Where?"

"You know." Dick indicated the signal with a little jerk of his head "Gotham needs us."

"Will Drake be joining us?"

"Nope. It's you and me."

It took a second, in which Damian's bottom lip jutted out slightly before he nodded "I'd like that."

Dick grinned and stood "What are you waiting for, then? Let's go!"

Damian let him take the lead and spared one last glance to the sky and to the tiny forms flying in and out of the light of the Bat-Signal. He wondered how long it would take for Grayson to realize mother was in town.

Being crazy lets people get away with unbelievable shit; allegedly, they couldn't account for their actions. A screwed up brain usually does that.

Jason was nuts, but he was very aware of that. He was also mostly aware of every flaw and mishap in his personality – he wasn't stupid –, he just chose to ignore them. And this was a clear example of that.

What good would come out of screwing with the replacement during patrol? None, really.

Dickie would come to the rapist's rescue, they would quarrel, everyone would be upset and Damian would have to choose between his tentative… friendship? – Yeah, let's call it that – with Jason, the failure, and his everlasting bond with Golden Boy. It was pretty clear how _that_ would go down.

Grayson had never called the kid a burden for starters.

So yeah, Jason _knew_ this couldn't possibly end well, and yet he kept using every bit of opportunity to steal crap from Tim's belt and watch the fucker flail around whining shit like "It's not _funny_, Jason!"

If he stomped, Jason would lose it.

Suddenly Tim paused, hand flying to his ear as he opened the line on his comm link "Yeah, I'm here."

Can you _really_ blame Jason for stealing that comm? No. You can't.

Tim tried to reach it – apparently having forgotten that he was a pocket size hero or something – which was way more hilarious than Jason had hoped for and it almost made him miss the last of Grayson's talking "_… to much damage. You can reach the harbor in less than 10. Just be careful, something shifty is going on down there._"

Jason closed the line and smiled "As fun as this has been, I gotta go. Stop some crime, fight some criminals… well _other_ criminals, am I right?"

"Stop screwing around! What did Batman want?"

"He wants you to retire for the night."

"What?"

Jason nailed him right on the kisser. It was amazing how many times he got away with that, what a piece of shit replacement Bruce found. That only fueled his sense of poetic justice in leaving Tim passed out on a rooftop – he didn't _have_ to tie the replacement up, it was just more entertaining – and smiled to himself as he headed to the harbor.

Damian scowled throughout the conversation, blank lenses glaring at Grayson to no avail.

There's no need to bring Drake into this, _Damian_ could handle whatever mother had set up in the harbor, he was sure of it. And despite everything Grayson's been saying, he seems to believe that Damian is made of glass, inanely patrolling the most safe areas of the city.

At least Grayson was yet oblivious to mother's visit to Gotham, Damian knew as soon as that information was uncovered, he'd be banned from his Robin duties one way or the other. The possibility that he would suddenly forget his allegiances and rejoin the Al Ghul household was always looming over them.

And perhaps, if Grayson had been truthful, the man might actually be scared of mother taking Damian away. It was an unsettling thought, what would happen if Richard and mother fought.

"Huh. He didn't even answer." Grayson muttered to himself. At least Damian hoped that was the case, since he obviously wouldn't shed a tear if Drake showed up disemboweled – he actually had a mind of performing the act himself – but before he could express that, there was a noise.

It sounded like rattling wings. Big wings. Grayson's stance indicated he had heard it too.

Almost at the same time, Damian's comm cracked to life "_You still haven't come to your senses, I see._"

The same sound, louder this time, and with a sign telling Damian to stay put, Grayson distanced himself to investigate and Damian took the chance to address the voice "My senses are perfect, mother. What brings you here?" he asked nonchalantly "Business?"

"_You, actually. It has come to my attention that the Drake boy has done you harm._"

Damian swallowed hard, tough his voice didn't waver "That situation has been dealt with."

"_And the offender yet draws breath. How can you allow such a thing? Have you forgotten all you've been taught?_"

Damian blinks rapidly, trying to gather his thoughts, breathing raggedly. He believed he was passed this, listening to mother only made father and Grayson look at him pityingly, which in turn made Damian's stomach burn, but this felt different.

Mother was right.

This was what he daydreamed about, repaying what Drake did to him, so why not?

It wasn't as if Damian would ever be able to prove father – or anyone else really – his self-worth, that was already tarnished for good, so why not break the Bat's rules? Should Drake be allowed to live having done what he did? His very existence humiliated Damian constantly, and that was_ completely_ unacceptable.

Grayson said it wasn't Drake's fault but-

Grayson.

Batman had gone inside the building looking for the source of the rattling and was still unaccounted for, and the lack of sound or movement on the roof made Damian's skin crawl and his eyes search his surroundings frantically "Where is he?"

"_Who, darling?_"

Damian gritted his teeth at the endearment "Batman, mother. Where is he?"

"_Batman is dead._" Damian held his breath for a moment to calm his hammering heart until she added "_You know that._"

The air rushed out of him and he let his eyes fall closed, heart rate going down "_Father_ is dead, mother. Batman is not."

"_You're surely not talking about that circus freak. I believed you were grooming yourself to become Batman, not playing page boy to that gipsy._"

Dick was feeling light-headed. There was a man-bat in Gotham. Not _the_ Man Bat, but _a_ man-bat, lurking in the shadows waiting to attack Dick or anyone else who happened by – though the intended target was probably Dick. The fight was fast and messy and Dick was running back to the roof with the blood of the man-bat still clinging to his gloved fingers.

A man-bat could only mean Talia was there, maybe watching him right now and Damian was completely alone.

"Apologies for showing such surprise. You _are_ being rather courteous to a declared enemy." he heard Damian say, and when Dick finally spotted him, his partner was staring at the skyline with a disheartened frown

The boy turned his head to Dick, who pressed a finger to his own lips, asking for silence then reached for the comm. Damian jumped back and landed in a battle stance, baring his teeth.

"Believing I was safe with them has rendered me vulnerable." Damian's voice was steady and calm, though he looked murderous.

Dick balked. He moved closer again and Damian actually slashed at him with a batarang. It was mind-numbing.

Vulnerable. That's the word Damian just used, he's feeling vulnerable.

He thinks Dick would actually attack him for the communicator, that Dick would choose to fight Talia over his little brother's well-being. Stepping closer was completely out of the question and the longer he let Talia speak, the worse this situation could turn, so Dick kneeled in front of Damian with slow, deliberate movements and extended a hand. Damian hardly relaxed, but watched Dick with careful consideration.

"Sentimental attachment is a weakness." the boy concluded slowly, as if trying to convince Dick as well as himself.

Dick mouths "_Please._" because his boy couldn't believe that. He couldn't be dragged away into his mother's world of hate and revenge. Not again.

Damian falters, eyes dropping to the ground and Dick tenses, ready to leap after him in case he bolted, but after a bit of hesitation, the comm is dropped on Dick's palm.

With his free hand, Dick grabs Damian's wrist and pulls him to his chest, burrowing his face on his hair. "Thank you" he whispers, with a swift press of lips to the top of the boys head.

Talia never stopped talking, never noticed how close to breaking her son was "_…that they'd try to lull you in, keep you from your path, they fear what you will become. They fear the loss of control._"

"We fear the loss of control? I _fear_ you're running your mouth." Dick says with a relieved gust of breath, almost laughing and looks down just in time to see Damian's head snap to shoot him a look of secondhand embarrassment. Maybe that _was_ a lame comeback.

"_Oh, hello Mr. Grayson. I thought I'd be rid of you by now._"

"I think I'm offended. You thought I'd go down with _one_ man-bat?"

"_I suppose you are right… It has served its purpose anyway._"

Dick's blood ran cold "What are you talking about?"

"_You have been so busy selling my son your lovely ideals about life and death, I figured _someone_ had to look out for his safety and best interest. Tell him not to worry anymore, mother took care of everything. Mr. Drake will never harm him again._"

Dick shot up with a growl, throwing Damian's comm against the wall and talking desperately into his own "Red Robin, come in! Red robin, retreat right now, it's a trap! Come in!"

Tim's voice sounded distant "_Batman?_"

Dick's shoulders sagged, all tension sucked out of them "Oh, thank God… Do not approach the harbor, I repeat, stay away from the harbor, it's a trap."

"_I didn't go._" Tim grumbles, somewhat bitchy.

As much as Dick finds that good news, it has him frowning "Why not?"

"_I had a run in with the Red Hood… He's the one who heard your message, probably there already._"

"Hood…" Dick muttered running a hand over his cowl covered face. He wasn't able to contact Jason, which totally explains why Red Hood is still screwing around with Tim's patrol "Wait, he went there? We gotta stop him!"

"_I'm kinda tied up right now._"

"I think this is more important than whatever you have going on, Tim."

"_I mean literally._"

Crap. "I'm coming."

"What happened?" Damian asks from behind him.

"You." Dick points at him "Go home. Red Robin and I will handle it."

Damian's frown deepens, lips parting in an unexpected show of hurt. Dick mentally kicks himself, but Damian's already raging "I will _not_-"

Dick silences him by dropping to his knees again and grabbing his shoulders "I didn't mean it like that." he says in hushed tones "With your mother out here I just… I won't let her near you."

"I can handle myself." Damian counters darkly.

"I know you can." Dick agrees easily tightening his grip "But I can't. Not with your mother here, she's already got Jay…" he bites his lips "Please be safe? _Please_ let me handle this."

Damian lowers his head, keeping Dick from reading his expression "Leave already!"

Dick could hug the living daylights out of the boy right then and there, but time is of the essence, so he brushes his lips on his littlest brother's forehead and runs off to rescue the other two.

Jason's beyond pissed.

He should've just stuck to torment the replacement, 'cause his missions _sucked ass_. This harbor thing was supposed to be all fun and games, Jason would get to shoot some bad guys, save the day and have an early night, maybe even check on the little dude, see if the kid's actually sleeping for a change, but no. He was neck fucking deep in a bomb and didn't get to fire a single bullet.

He'd like to say he was so furious it made him suicidal, but then again, he _was_ trying to disarm the bomb, so yeah. Jason was metaphorically suicidal, in that 'about to flip his shit' kinda way. Royally, truly, insanely pissed off, but alive and wanting to stay that way.

Whoever the hell was behind this had also lined the place with some signal disruptor and his comm was all screwed to shit. He kept getting snippets of Dick's voice, most likely in dire need to chew Jason out because of his stunt with the replacement earlier.

"Shut up, Dick…" he grumbled out loud "I'm trying to fucking work here."

This bomb was _insane_, he could see the timer marking 32 minutes – plenty of time, in theory – and counting, but that was pretty much it. The rest was a stainless steel silver box, no engravings, no apparent way to open the goddamn thing and it's not like you can shake a fucking bomb, or turn it upside down, even if he could lift the thing, which wasn't the case. He had had his merry times with bombs in the past – not including crowbars and a coffin, that is – but he was about to run out of ideas of what the hell to do with this one and Dick and the replacement bitching into his comm didn't help at all.

At least if they were full messages, fine, but getting just "_Hood… away … now… it's a… Hood! ... you… come in … bats …_" was not only totally unhelpful but so fucking annoying.

He tossed the device away and tried to concentrate in the task at hand. Unfortunately he didn't throw it far enough and still caught fleeting words.

"Hood?" he heard it distantly "Answer me! Hood!" was it him or the shouting was getting louder?

Suddenly Jason realized the voice wasn't coming from the communicator at all.

"HOOD! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Great. The kid. That means Dick and Tim can't be that far behind.

"Working on a bomb, need some privacy!" Jason called without looking back and heard Damian's mad dash to him.

"DO NOT TOUCH THAT!"

Jason rolls his eyes because of course the kid would start talking again just to belittle him. "Dude, I can handle a fucking bomb."

Using so much force his forearms shook with the effort, Jason managed to lift the box just a little, and his eyes widened when the 30 minutes timer turned into 30 seconds "What the fuck?"

He let the box fall back down and stood, taking several steps back, baffled at his shitty luck and then he heard it.

"JASON!" he turned to see the anguished look on Damian's face and realized he was going to die.

Jason ran. There was no time, no way out of this, but Damian, who had just called him _Jason_, was right there, desperation written across his features, running _to_ Jason and that fucking bomb, like he could do anything about it, like he wouldn't die just as Jason would.

They met halfway and Jason didn't stop, practically tackling Damian into his arms and kept on running. He felt the kid's shallow breath against his ear.

"How long?" he asked, and Damian's fingers dug into his shoulder.

"-tt-"

"I'm sorry." he saw the door. It was so close he could taste the night air.

"No, you're not."

"Little dude-"

"It's over."

Jason barely had time to curl himself around the kid before the impact sent them flying. It was almost as if he could see everything and nothing at all at the same time. He saw the orange glow exploding into the night sky, he saw the world turning upside down, he saw deep, profound darkness.

He still felt Damian's weight on his arms, though he knew the kid wasn't there anymore. He couldn't see his face.

* * *

**A/N.:** So yeah, this took way longer than I had anticipated, because making up revenge is _hard_ (so it's probably why this one's kinda lame, sorry)

I think I should say my Talia is somewhere in between pre-boot and Morrison's (this version is totally the bane of my existence, I will never forgive Morrison for making her Mommy Dearest crazy and not just... crazy. With slight motherly tendencies. But I digress)

And if anyone watches Spartacus, you might get why Talia and Damian talk so weird on my stuff, that's Spartacus Speak. Not sorry.

But I am sorry about the cliffhanger, so I'm compensating it by posting this on a Monday and totally killing the possibilities of getting reviews (people only review on weekends, I have no idea why). So there.

This is coming to an end, but it's been an awesome ride, am I right?


	9. Damsel

Dick stood in shock as he looked at the flaming remains of the warehouse he had sent Timmy to. He could've killed his little brother.

He probably killed one brother anyway.

Tim had held him back, keeping him from turning every rumble in search of Jason, saying that he wasn't there, that if the bomb went off, it was 'cause Jason had just let it.

After all, Jason was known for wanting to watch the world burn.

Tim was a crappy liar.

They searched anyway; there were areas sill too hot, where it would've been impossible for anything to survive – Dick deliberately ignored those – but there was nothing to be found, no sign of anyone dead or alive.

Tim kept telling him that that was a good sign and Dick nodded in agreement, feeling completely numb. He'd have to tell Damian. _God_, how in hell was he supposed to tell Damian?

Dick didn't know in what terms those two were since Jason had his bitch fit and later sent the boy the care package, but he did know that they had bonded. Jason was the first one to get close to Damian after everything that happened, and now Jason was probably dead…

If Dick had gotten there sooner... He heard the explosion, saw its glow and couldn't do _anything._

"Alfred," Dick called as soon as he slumped onto the batmobile driver's seat "I need to talk to Damian."

Tim looked disapproving next to him. "Jason's doing this on purpose and you're worrying over nothing." he grumbled.

Dick was about to sush him when Alfred replied "_Master Damian is not here._"

"Could you call him for me? This is important."

"_I believe there was some miscommunication, master Damian hasn't been here at all._"

"What? I told him to go straight back home."

"_Perhaps he got caught up with something on the way._"

Dick's head snapped to the side finding Tim looking as grim as he felt.

Talia. It had to be Talia.

Dick kicked down Talia's door even as Barbara shouted in his ear for him to calm down, to be careful, that he promised he'd control himself if she found out where Talia was based. Tim is also yelling something behind him, maybe for Dick to slow down.

"Where is he?!" Dick growled at an unimpressed Talia.

"It seems truly impossible to hire good help." she sighed, closing the lid on her laptop "Top notch security and not a scratch on you. Father would be appalled." She talked like Damian, or Damian talked like her, Dick couldn't tell anymore, but her whole demeanor reminded him of his littlest brother.

He wanted to break her face. "Tell me where he is _now_."

Talia is in the middle of a smile when Tim walks in breathing a little fast and her expression twists in confusion "What is _he_ doing here?"

"_You killed Jason!_" Dick voice seemed to bounce off the walls and hit Talia square in the chest, and even before her lips parted in shock, Dick was getting in her face "And you will give Damian back." he orders her through clenched teeth "You won't steel another brother from me."

"What?" she shakes her head "Damian is not with me."

"STOP LYING!" Dick is desperate, he's shaking Talia by the shoulders, he wants his brother back.

Talia might be disturbed by the news that she killed the wrong person, but she wasn't some damsel in distress and reminded Dick of that by hitting him upside the chin with the heel of her hand and used his moment of distraction to stand and step away from both boys.

Tim inched towards her and had a gun pointed to him in the same second "Don't test me, boy. You were supposed to be already dead, it will not pain me to finish the deed. In fact…"

The shot is so silent, Dick is only sure it happened when Tim falls back, grabbing his own shoulder "Tim!"

"Stay down." she orders Tim snidely "I will deal with later. The grownups need to talk." and she turns her attention to Dick "Where is my son?"

"Stop playing, Talia. Give him back, you know he doesn't want to be here." they stare each other down, Talia's aim is still trained on Tim, and Dick tastes blood in his mouth from where she hit him. They could do that all day long, except for the fact that Talia's face might a cool mask, but the gun on her hand is trembling slightly. Slow realization dawns on Dick "You don't have him."

"And you lost him." she says with a cracking voice "You _lost_ my son! You get my child to trust you, you have him _beaten_ by that one," she gestures with the gun, and Tim swallows hard from his spot on the floor, Dick feels his brother's eyes on him, but doesn't dare to look back. Talia doesn't know. She thinks she does, and that is the only reason Tim is still breathing "he disappears under _your_ care, and you dare accuse me?" her eyes are wild "At least the biggest threat is already contained." she glares at Tim.

Dick closes his eyes and shakes his head in disagreement, somewhat dazed "If he isn't with you, then-" his breath catches and he turns wide-eyed at Tim "He heard me. When I was talking to you, he heard what we said about Jason he… Damian went to the pier after Jason."

Talia balks "I do not understand… You said Jason- That can't be."

They were grabbing at Jason. It was annoying, he only wanted to sleep.

"_Move_, Hood! I can't lift you like this, you need to move!"

Nope. No way. Jason _needed_ to fucking sleep. Either this was the mother of all hangovers or he fell into a meat grinder, 'cause he fucking hurt. Everywhere. But they were still grabbing at him with small fingers made of steel.

"Robin!" Bruce's – Batman's – voice growled at him and Jason twitched "Can you hear me?" Jason could. Jason should move, Bruce needed him "Get up, soldier." Yeah, fuck him.

Jason wasn't his little soldier bitch anymore, and wouldn't get up if he didn't want to. Even if he was getting colder and colder by the second and moving seemed like a pretty good idea, but it was the principle of things. Bruce can go suck it.

The little fingers go lax and Jason thinks they're finally leaving him the fuck alone, but suddenly there's this slight pressure on his forehead; he moves to push whatever it is away and gets a hand full of fine wet hair.

"Todd" a small voice whispers close to Jason's ear and cheek; he knows that voice "I can't do this-" the voice breaks, then it comes through clenched teeth "I will not leave you like this. You will _not_ die, but you _have_ to move. I need you- I need you to do this last thing for me." The voice was upset.

Jason _hated_ that the voice was upset. He began to stand, feeling his knees digging into what feels like sand and his ribs scream in pain. Jason was about to crumble down when the little steel fingers came back with such force that instead of supporting him up, they knocked the air out of his lungs. He groaned.

"I'm not going to touch you if you don't want me to." the little voice told him somewhat flat and awkward, but the words gave Jason a sense of déjà vu "We are nearly there."

Jason's arm is draped over something small and strong that kinda drags him along the way "Where?" he manages to ask, and starts to cough water.

"Oh, so you _can_ hear me, you have just been ignoring me." the voice sounded strained now.

_And you're deflecting_ Jason wants to say, but that word is so _hard_. Deflecting. Def-lec-ting. _Deflecting._

Jason falls seated and his head bangs on something that makes a loud clank. He blinks and a very blue eye comes into focus close to his face, the fact that the skin surrounding the eye is covered in blood takes a moment longer to compute.

"Stay here." the voice tells him harshly "Don't move. Do not fall asleep."

"You're hurt…" Jason slurs worriedly.

The eye narrows a bit and Jason's not sure he's being glared or frowned at. "Like you care." the voice sounded childish, maybe even pouting; Jason wasn't sure why he felt so guilty about it "Stay put. I have no interest in finding you died over your own stupidity while I was gone."

This voice was a little shit.

Before Jason could tell it that, both voice and eye were gone. Everything began to grow foggy without the focus point, but before the world grew completely dark, he heard the little shit of a voice further away now "Mister!" it whined on the verge of tears "My big brother got hurt, will you help us?"

Dick slammed his fist on the keyboard and went back to pacing around the bunker "We're wasting time!"

"_You have to be there in case Damian comes back._" Barbara tells him, so calm and collected, like she knew everything would be fine. It pissed Dick off so bad.

"Have you been paying attention? Damian does not come back. Ever. He doesn't trust us enough and why should he?" Dick sighs, trying to keep his tone in check "If he comes back, Alfred will be here. I can't let Talia be the only one searching."

"_The Birds are searching too, you know that. I am checking security cameras as we speak and you have spent like what? A week sleeping a few hours a night? You're not in shape to do this. You shouldn't even be patrolling, neither of you should._"

"Yeah, that's comforting, thanks Babs."

"_You know what I mean. How's Tim?_"

"He's okay… I don't even know how. Talia shot him and… She should've shot _me_, who would blame her?"

"_If that's how you're gonna act now, I'm leaving. Bye._"

"Come on, Babs… I have to own up."

"Grayson?"

"All that's happening is my fault, how could I even think that I could fill Bruce's shoes?"

"Grayson."

"How could I even try to raise his son? Hell, in our first crisis he'd rather run to _Jason._"

"_Richard!_"

Dick looks up at the monitor, even though he knows that's not Barbara's voice, and finds she's really gone. He takes a deep breath because he has to be hearing things. Damian cannot be here calling him _Richard_ of all things. Except he is.

Dick's knees threaten to give at the sight of Damian with Jason's arm over his shoulder, like the boy had been dragging the sometimes criminal. Half of Damian's domino is gone, and there's blood – a lot of it – in its place.

"What happened?" Dick asked so completely appalled he forgets how to move.

"Help him" Damian's order sounds a lot like a question, and it shatters Dick's heart into a million pieces.

Dick picks Jason up and has absolutely no idea how Damian managed to drag the dead weight all the way to the bunker.

No. Not dead. Jason's alive. Dick cannot believe Jason's alive.

He's definitely not okay with his cracked ribs, ruptured spleen, concussion, and… well, yeah… Dick got the point, it was bad. But at least Jason was still breathing.

Damian hovered close by completely silent and dead serious as Dick and Alfred worked on piecing Jason back together. As soon as Alfred gave the ok, Dick turned his full attention to the boy. He was dying to know what the hell happened, how they got here, why the fuck Damian didn't listen to him when he told him specifically to go straight back to the bunker, how could a little 10 year-old have the strength to save someone double his size and age… But there was a way more important question.

"Are you okay?"

Damian still had that too-serious look to his face which wasn't all that unusual, but his frown was just a little too deep, Dick was sure he was in pain. Yet the boy glanced at Jason "Will he live?"

"Jay-Jay is way too stubborn to die."

"He died once." Damian deadpanned.

"Too stubborn to stay dead, obviously. You see the pattern?"

Damian deflated a little and pushed his bottom lip out, seemingly lost in thought. Dick took the opportunity to pick the boy up to place him on a nearby gurney and pretend it wasn't a hug.

"You do know I am perfectly able to walk."

"I know, I know…" maybe Dick let the not-hug linger a little bit too long, sue him "Can you tell me what happened?" he asked as he began to peel the remainders of Damian's domino away.

"The bomb went off."

"So _that's_ what that huge explosion sound was…" he shot Damian a look "Maybe a little bit more specifics?"

There was a huge gash on Damian's temple and Dick made a mental note to check for a concussion, but only after he could reset the boy's shoulder. How the _hell_ did Damian get Jason here?

"Todd is incompetent. I told him not to touch the bomb, I would handle it. He did not listen to me, it wasn't my fault."

Okay, he's kinda bitchy now – Dick was worried after getting away with the hug – so maybe not concussed, just in shock. Or tired. Definitely tired. He got in position to fix the dislocated shoulder.

"Jason's usually pretty good at bombs. You really knew how to disarm it? On the count of three. One." there was a loud snap when the joint popped back in. Damian barely grunted.

"It was mother's work." he said as if that explained everything, and maybe it did "She meant it for Drake, but as usual he is incapable of even walking into a trap right. Your successors are useless. And you are not so bright yourself."

"You're my successor too, asshat" Dick says lightly through a fond smile. Tired Damian was kinda hilarious.

"I am well aware, and doesn't that _suck_. I used to be good at things, my tutors praised me, now I have your moronic legacy to bear."

"Thank God we have you to save us all."

Damian scoffed and sneered all at once before giving Dick a hearty "_Fuck you._"

Dick snorted loudly and bit his lips, though he couldn't quite hide his smile "I mean it, you saved Jason." he began cleaning the gash on Damian's temple "Even if you totally ignored my telling you to come straight home to do so, but yeah… You did good."

"Do you think it will change anything? In how he sees me."

"What do you mean?" Dick asked distractedly, his focus on the wound.

"-tt- Nothing." Dick stops and leans back enough to look at Damian's face, he keeps staring until Damian's eye begins to twitch in annoyance "_What._"

"Tell me."

Damian sulks for a couple of seconds, but Dick knows to wait "His knowing changed _everything_. He left. Perhaps now…" the boy shrugged his good shoulder "He will overlook past grievances."

Dick gets back to check Damian for any other injuries, with no doubt in his mind that if he doesn't, the boy will run around with a broken bone and no one will ever even know. After making sure that Jason was the one who took the worst of the explosion, stitching Damian's temple, and bandaging his twisted ankle – just to be safe – Dick set up an armchair next to Jason's bed.

"I'm gonna keep watch for a while" he told Damian "You can go upstairs to get some sleep."

Damian didn't even move a muscle.

"_Or_" Dick offered "you could stay down here with me and we can both yell at Jason when he wakes up."

"_If_ he wakes up." Damian countered somberly.

"When." Dick corrected and kept going when he saw Damian was ready to add something most likely depressing and bitchy "And don't argue with me, I'm the goddamn Batman, I know my stuff. Go take a shower, 'kay?"

The words didn't seem to convince Damian, but he still hopped down from the gurney and left for the shower. Dick changed out of the batsuit, got food, cushions and blankets and met Damian standing by the armchair, the boy was wearing sweatpants and a red hoodie way too big for him.

Dick was about to ask if the hoodie wasn't Jason's, but Damian was still frowning too much, so he decided to let it go for now.

He made Damian get settled in the armchair and re-did the necessary bandages, finishing by throwing a blanket over him.

By the end Damian has his eyes narrowed in suspicion "What is the meaning of this?"

"I just want you to be comfortable" Dick sits on the cushions on the floor leaning back on the armchair "Are you? Comfortable?"

"Are you weird on purpose?"

"How can you even ask that? I'm obviously a natural" he hooks his arm under Damian's calf, half hugging it, leaning his head on the boy's knee "Hey, D?"

"Yes, Grayson?"

"Can you tell me what happened? Tonight?"

"I have already told you-"

"I got the bomb part. What happened to you two?"

"Todd tried to shield me, the idiot. He only managed to get himself hurt as usual. I helped him out of the water, onto the shore and left him there as I acquired some transportation."

"How?"

"I hitchhiked."

"Again, _how?_"

"I pretended to be a child in distress and asked for help."

"You _are_ a child. And you _were_ in distress." Damian knocked his knee into Dick's head "How did you explain your getup?"

"Costume party."

Dick smiled "And then?"

"I drove us here."

"In the civilian's car?"

"Yes."

"What about the civilian?"

"He is fine. _Alive_ if that is where you are getting at, I simply knocked him out. You know I couldn't let him see where we are based. I _will_ return the car later."

Dick doesn't even try to berate Damian for that, 'cause seriously, considering the boys options at the time and what his usual attitude would be, he handled it _fine_ "You never cease to amaze me."

Damian lets out a low, apparently satisfied grunt and relaxed onto his seat.

"There's something else I want you to tell me, D."

"Didn't I detail it enough? Do you want me to tell you how it felt to hit the water?"

Dick thinks that was a joke, but since it sucked he decided to ignore it "I wanna know what happened on that night."

Damian tensed, Dick did his best not to move away, even in face of the impending kick to the teeth "No. You said you knew. You cannot make me say it just to satisfy your morbid curiosity."

"I wouldn't do that to you. I won't laugh, I won't punish you for it and I won't leave. You are my partner and I trust you with my life, with our brothers' lives. And you should be able to do that too."

"I fight _beside_ you, my life is _constantly_ in your hands."

"So you trust me to keep you alive?"

"Obviously, yes."

"So why not with this?"

Damian shifts and Dick hugs his leg closer. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Dick clenches his teeth and closes his eyes tight "I'm sorry. You don't have to- Forget I ever said anything. Just remember that you can talk to me. About everything. Anytime."

"Todd told me the same thing."

"Well, I'm not Jason. He-"

"Overreacts, I know."

Dick sighs and hands Damian a cookie "Well, if it counts for anything, I really do lo-"

"If you say you love me, I swear I'll kick your teeth in."

"But Damian… I _looooooooove_ you. Oh shit, my mouth!"

* * *

**A/N.:** I kinda think this ending has an Unearthly Things vibe, it wasn't my intention, but I kinda like it. It fits.

I think there will be one or two more chapters to go and that will be it! I'm so happy I got to write a less crazy Talia, you guys have no idea.

Thank you a whole lot for all the favorites and follows and reviews! I never thought this story would get so much attention, specially because there are way more people who write in english (I'm brazilian) and in this fandom, I really think I have a future in writing every time I get one of your awesome reviews (specially the long ones, I love the long ones)!

Okay, I'm done being sappy.

Hope you guys enjoyed this


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